HELLZAPOPPIN

Olsen and Johnson

HELLZAPOPPIN' (1941). Director: H. C. Potter 

Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson, playing themselves, are told that in the film version of their (real life) Broadway hit "Olsen and Johnson's Hellzapoppin'" they have to add a little romance to the mix. The screenwriter (Elisha Cook Jr.) concocts a triangle in which aspiring producer Jeff Hunter (Robert Paige) wants to star Kitty (Jane Frazee), the women he loves, in a musical -- only his best friend, Woody (Lewis Howard), is in love with her too. Then there are complications in the form of man-hungry but homely Betty (Martha Raye) and a possible prince named Pepi (Mischa Auer). For reasons not worth recounting Olsen and Johnson want the show to fail and try to sabotage it a la Night at the Opera (a much, much better movie) to somewhat comical results in the last twenty minutes of the film. Meanwhile Olsen and Johnson have a running dialogue with the film's projectionist (Shemp Howard) who keeps screwing things up. 

Mismatch: Martha Raye and Mischa Auer

Hellzapoppin' has its share of laughs (and quite a few groaners) but despite its amiable nature it never quite bursts into full-blown hilarity. Olsen and Johnson are such a comparatively dull comedy team that for much of the film's length I confused one of them with the much more distinctive Hugh Herbert, who plays the giggling Quimby. As the lovers, Paige and Frazee are appealing, and get to sing two lovely numbers entitled "Heaven for Two" and "And You Were There." Martha Raye is wonderful as Betty whether she's running after an aghast Pepi with lust in her heart or warbling the snappy "Watch the Birdie" in a production number. Auer is her match in every way.

Robert Paige and Jane Frazee

Hellzapoppin' breaks through the fourth wall numerous times throughout the movie (this was done in many films afterwards including Gremlins 2) and has a lot of sight gags, some of which succeed (the "coat of arms") and some of which land with a thud. A highlight of the film is a performance by the sensational Harlem Congeroo Dancers and an all-black band that is equally spectacular. Olsen and John had teamed for at least one movie before this one, All Over Town, then got together again for Crazy House and Ghost Catchers, pretty much doing the same shtick that they do in Hellzapoppin'. A little of them goes a long way! To compare them in any way to the Marx Brothers is utterly ludicrous.

Verdict: Silly, frequently stupid, but it earns some genuine chuckles as well. **3/4. 

BORN TO KILL

Lawrence Tierney and Claire Trevor

BORN TO KILL (1947). Director: Robert Wise.

In Reno for a divorce, Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) encounters Sam Wilde (Lawrence Tierney), an aptly-named sociopath who murders a rival for his girlfriend, Laurie's (Isabel Jewell), affections, and then kills her, too. Helen discovers the bodies but keeps mum about it so as not to upset high-toned fiance Fred Grover (Phillip Terry). Helen's foster sister Georgia (Audrey Long) is rolling in dough but Helen, the poor relation, sees Fred as her ticket into prosperity. But the animal magnetism of Mr. Wilde -- "most men are turnips, but you're not a turnip," she tells him -- upsets her equilibrium to such an extent that she covers for him no matter how disturbed she becomes over what she finds out about his true nature.

Esther Howard and Walter Slezak

Born to Kill is what might be called ferocious film noir. Once it starts it never lets up under Robert Wise's adroit and classy direction. Lawrence Tierney probably delivers the best performance of his career, and Claire Trevor nearly walks off with the movie with her sterling portrait of the psychologically damaged Helen Brent, who is terribly afraid that her association with Wilde will allow her to give full vent to her very worst instincts. Walter Slezak [Lifeboat] scores as the casually amoral private detective hired by landlady Mrs. Kraft (Esther Howard), a friend of the late Laurie, to find her killer, while Howard herself offers a fascinating portrayal of the beer-tippling, likable, but rather off-putting old woman. Phillip Terry [The Lost Weekend] again proves that he was more than just one of Joan Crawford's exes, and Isabel Jewell and Tony Barrett (as her ill-fated date, Danny) are also notable. Although he seems artificial at first Elisha Cook Jr. makes a decidedly positive impression as Wilde's best friend, although a lot about him remains unexplored. Audrey Long is fine as the fairly superficial heiress who comes to marry Wilde.

Claire Trevor and Phillip Terry

The film is full of memorable sequences, such as the chilling and well-handled double murder of Laurie and Danny, and especially a great sequence when the feisty and tenacious Mrs. Kraft nearly meets her maker in an isolated sand dune. In general the film is taut and fast-paced and holds the attention throughout. I do have a couple of quibbles, however. The police do not make their presence known until the closing moments of the film, but surely there would have been an investigation into the aforementioned double murder, and surely Mr. Wilde would have been the chief suspect. The private eye is clued in to this but not the police? Another problem is that the ending to the film seems rushed and overly melodramatic. It also should be noted that Sam Wilde is also one of your dumber sociopaths; just the fact that he's so unconcerned over his actions and their repercussions makes this abundantly clear. Still, Born to Kill is an exciting and suspenseful picture with some unpredictable moments. The contributions of composer Paul Sawtell and cinematographer Robert de Grasse should also be noted. Both gentlemen also worked on Bodyguard, which also starred Lawrence Tierney.

Verdict: Memorable crime drama with some sensational performances. ***1/2. 

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL -- IN COLOR!

Who's the bigger bitch? Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (colorized/1959). Produced and directed by William Castle.

Annabelle Loring (Carol Ohmart of The Scarlet Hour) has conceived of the idea of holding a party in a supposedly haunted house and having the guests arrive in hearses. Unfortunately, her husband, Frederick (Vincent Price), has his own ideas, and chooses the guests himself, offering all of them $10,000 if they stay locked in the house all night. There's no love lost between Frederick and Annabelle, whom her husband sees as nothing more than an amoral gold-digger. The guests -- test pilot Lance (Richard Long); gambling columnist Ruth (Julie Mitchum); psychiatrist David (Alan Marshal of Lydia); Loring's employee Nora (Carolyn Craig of Giant); and the house's weird owner Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook Jr.)  -- can only wonder what, if anything, the Lorings are up to. Then somebody is found hanging ...

Carolyn Craig and Richard Long

Discovering that House on Haunted Hill had been colorized gave me an excuse to watch this guilty pleasure all over again and despite its lack of logic and its kind of clunkiness, it is a pleasure. Chief among the delights is the interplay between Price and Ohmart, who are wonderful as the combative and sneaky spouses. We mustn't forget the creepy and melodramatic score by Van Alexander which works beautifully with this kind of pseudo-scary and definitely amusing material. A scene late in the picture with a skeleton rising out of a pool of acid in the house's basement  undoubtedly had all the kids in 1959 screaming their heads off with delight. Hokey it may be, but the flick is a lot of fun.

As to the colorization, which is well done, I have to wonder if it really adds anything to the picture. At least the addition of color doesn't strip the film of atmosphere, thank goodness, which it has in abundance despite its often silly but always-macabre tone. Julie Mitchum was the older sister of Robert Mitchum; this was the last of her eight credits.

Verdict: Perfect Halloween viewing. ***. 

THE KILLING

Marie Windsor and Vince Edwards

THE KILLING (1956). Director, co-screenplay: Stanley Kubrick.

Ex-con Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) has gathered together a motley group to rob a race track: bartender Mike (Joe Sawyer); cop Randy (Ted de Corsia of The Big Combo); sniper Nicky (Timothy Carey); front man Marvin (Jay C. Flippen), muscular Maurice (professional wrestler Kola Kwariani); and track employee George (Elisha Cook, Jr.). But George, who wants to participate so he can buy things for his unfaithful wife, Sherry (Marie Windsor), is unaware that she has taken a lover, Val (Vince Edwards), and when these two learn about the robbery they cook up their own plans ...

Elisha Cook Jr. and Marie Windsor

The Killing is Kubrick's third theatrical film (aside from some documentaries), and it is one of his best. He managed to get excellent performances from the cast, with Windsor being a stand-out along with Elisha Cook, Jr., [House on Haunted Hill] who here is given one of the best roles of his career and runs with it. The other cast members are all on the mark, including Dorothy Adams as Mike's bedridden wife, Ruthie. Colleen Gray gets only a few moments as Johnny's girlfriend, but she's fine, and Carey makes a weird and effective Nicky, who literally shoots horses. Lucien Ballard's cinematography is first-class, and Gerald Fried's musical score adds to the film's taut and suspenseful atmosphere.

Sterling Hayden with Jay C. Flippen 

Jim Thompson's dialogue is occasionally forgettable ("she has a dollar sign where her heart should be"), but there's also an interesting interchange between Marvin and Johnny in which the former tells the latter that he practically thinks of him as a son, but then virtually suggests that they run away together, although the implications of this go unexplored. The film has an ironic, knock-out ending that really delivers a wallop. The movie is generally filmed in long cuts and the tension would have been increased with sharper editing. As good as this is, I would have loved to see what this would have been like had Hitchcock directed it. Another interesting Kubrick film is Eyes Wide Shut.

Verdict: One of the best caper movies ever made. ***1/2. 

UP IN ARMS

UP IN ARMS (1944). Director: Elliott Nugent.

Danny Weems (Danny Kaye, in his film debut) is a hopeless hypochondriac who not only thinks he has every ailment imaginable but convinces others as well (in the film's funniest sequences). Danny is also hopelessly smitten with pretty Mary (Constance Dowling) who only has eyes for Danny's buddy, Joe (Dana Andrews of Where the Sidewalk Ends). Meanwhile, nurse Virginia (Dinah Shore of Follow the Boys) is unrequitedly in love with Danny. Then Danny and Joe get drafted and the two gals join up as nurses, wherein all four find themselves on a ship sailing into the Pacific war zone. Up in Arms is supposedly a remake of Eddie Cantor's Whoopee, with the setting transferred from the wild west to WW2, where the sight of singing and dancing on a ship sailing into combat seems pretty silly. Indeed, although the movie starts off quite well, it soon becomes a little too silly, although Kaye is a wonderful performer and emerged a major star after this. Andrews, Dowling and Shore are marvelous support, and Shore gets to sing two memorable numbers, "Wildest Dreams" and "I Had a Man." A very odd sequence occurs when the two men and the two gals are sitting back to back on a bus, carrying on a conversation while pretending (according to military edict) not to know one another, with the result that it appears as if Kaye and Andrews -- and Dowling and Shore -- are wooing one another! The decidedly homophobic reactions from the other passengers, considering the time period, are a little discomfiting! Other cast members include Lyle Talbot (typically bland as a sergeant); Louis Calhern as a colonel; Margaret Dumont [Shake, Rattle and Roll], looking rather slender in a scene in a movie theater lobby; Elisha Cook Jr., Benny Baker, and George Mathews as fellow sailors; and Virginia Mayo as one of the beauteous Goldwyn Girls -- in short order Mayo would be deservedly co-starring with Kaye in several pictures. Constance Dowling (sister of Doris Dowling) was a pretty, perfectly competent actress, somewhat reminiscent of Veronica Lake, who made her debut in this film and made just a few others, often in Italy.

Verdict: Amiable nonsense that has little to do with the actual war. **1/2. 

DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK

Marilyn Monroe

DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK (1952). Director: Roy Ward Baker. Based on the novel "Mischief" by Charlotte Armstrong.

Eddie Forbes (Elisha Cook Jr.) is an elevator operator at Manhattan's McKinley Hotel who wishes he had never let his niece, Nell (Marilyn Monroe), babysit for the young daughter of guests Peter and Ruth Jones (Jim Backus and Lurene Tuttle of The Manitou). For Nell has been disturbed ever since the man she loved died at sea in a plane crash. It doesn't help that she encounters a pilot named Jed Towers (Richard Widmark), whose girlfriend, Lyn (Anne Bancroft of Gorilla At Large) told him to take a hike because she not only feels they have no future but finds him essentially cold. Confusing Jed with the dead man, Nell becomes increasingly unraveled and things look more and more dangerous for her and the little girl (Donna Corcoran) and possibly Jed as well ... Marilyn Monroe is given a pretty tough assignment to play an emotionally disturbed, indeed mentally ill woman in this, and her performance ranges from some quietly effective moments to the occasionally embarrassing one; but all in all she's good and may even manage to wrangle a tear or two from some viewers. Bancroft and Widmark are excellent, and there is also notable work from young Corcoran, as well as Verna Felton (the stern maid on I Love Lucy) and Don Beddoe, as a nosy hotel guest and her husband. Gloria Blondell is a nightclub photographer, Jeanne Cagney plays a telephone operator, and Michael Ross [Attack of the 50 Foot Woman] is the house dick.  The ending to this is rather moving, and none of the major characters are untouched by the experience. This was released by Twentieth Century Fox with big-name leads, but it's essentially a "B" movie with a short running time. 

Verdict: Sad story of a grieving, neurotic woman disguised as a competent little thriller. ***. 

BLACULA

William Marshall

BLACULA (1972). Director: William Crain.

Mamuwalde. an African dignitary (William Marshall), and his wife, are on a mission in Europe to protest the slave trade when they wind up guests in the castle of Count Dracula (Charles Macaulay of The House of Seven Corpses). Dracula ignites the ire of Mamuwalde when he claims to have no problem with slavery and would even like to have the man's wife for himself, and the angry count responds by turning him into a vampire. In modern-times, two interior decorators, Bobby (Ted Harris) and Billy (Rick Metzler). get a consignment of items from Transylvania and make the mistake of opening up "Blacula's" coffin. Blacula sees a woman, Tina (Vonetta McGee of The Eiger Sanction), who he swears is his dead wife, and insinuates himself into her company. Meanwhile, some of Mamuwalde's victims are waking up in the morgue and attacking people. Tina's sister, Michelle (Denise Nicholas), has a boyfriend, Dr. Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala), who investigates the strange deaths  ... Given the popularity of the "blaxploitation" pictures of the period, Blacula was probably inevitable, and it's actually not a bad idea. The storyline is more than workable, but the character of Manuwalde has been reduced to a one-dimensional villain. A bigger problem is the film's leaden direction and pacing, which strips most of the fun out of it, although audiences may have gotten a kick out of the scene when the crazed lady cab driver bitten by Blacula jumps out of the morgue and rushes down the hall in slow motion to chomp on the halpess attendant, played by Elisha Cook! The two likable gay decorators are raging stereotypes and are referred to as "faggots" in several instances, but then blaxploitation pictures could be merciless toward gays. With his dramatic demeanor, handsome features, and magnificent baritone, one would imagine William Marshall [To Trap a Spy] would make a great Dracula, but he's less effective than others in the role. The other cast members are generally good, with Ted Harris being amusing. A trio sings a couple of snappy numbers in a nightclub, including "There He Goes Again," during which the lady vocalist exhibits some amazing terpsichorean gyrations. Followed by Scream, Blacula, Scream. From American-International Pictures.

Verdict: Not as much fun as it sounds. **.

DARK WATERS

Merle Oberon

DARK WATERS (1944). Director: Andre De Toth.

Leslie Calvin (Merle Oberon of These Three) is the only survivor of the shelling of a ship, and spent many miserable days in a life boat. With no family left, she goes to live with her Aunt Emily (Fay Bainter) and Uncle Norbert (John Qualen of Girls Dormitory), who live on an old sugar plantation near the bayou, and whom she has never met. Leslie is befriended by Dr. Grover (Franchot Tone), the maid Florella (Nina Mae McKinney), and another fired servant, Pearson (Rex Ingram), who has been warned to stay away from the estate. Among her relatives' associates are their lawyer, Mr. Sydney (Thomas Mitchell), and handyman Cleeve (Elisha Cook, Jr.). It isn't long before Leslie, now a wealthy heiress, suspects that there's something not quite right going on in the bayou, and that it embroils her aunt and uncle and perhaps others. Dark Waters is a modest, obvious and predictable suspense item with some good performances from Tone and Bainter, and especially Ingram [Fired Wife], Mitchell and Cook. Oberon has a strong scene in the hospital at the beginning, but her performance is uneven. It's all swathed in a nice score by Miklos Rozsa.

Verdict: Watchable but not much else. **1/2.

THE NIGHT STALKER

Darren McGavin as Kolchak

THE NIGHT STALKER (1972 telefilm). Drector: John Llewellyn Moxey. Written by Richard Matheson.

Reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin), hoping to get back to the big time of New York from Las Vegas, latches onto a story about women being found dead drained of every drop of blood, and runs with it, discovering that an actual vampire (Barry Atwater) is on the loose, leading to a tense climax in the bloodsucker's lair. This high-rated telefilm [a "Movie of the Week"] introduced Kolchak, who returned in a second telefilm, The Night Strangler, before getting his own series, which lasted one season. McGavin is fine, bolstered by performances from Carol Lynley as his girlfriend, Claude Akins as a cop, Kent Smith as the D.A., and Simon Oakland as Kolchak's belligerent boss, Vincenzo. Elisha Cook Jr. and Charles McGraw are also in the cast and are notable. An unlikely aspect of the plot is that Vincenzo wants to suppress the story, which makes no sense as he's in the business of selling newspapers, and a story of vampire killings would certainly garner a hell of a lot of attention!

Verdict: Entertaining time passer with a nifty premise. ***.

ROSEMARY'S BABY

ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968). Director: Roman Polanski. 

Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) moves into a new apartment [that a barely recognized actor, her husband, could hardly have afforded even in the 60's] and discovers that her neighbors are witches and devil worshipers and have their eye on her unborn baby. Rosemary's Baby was based on the novel by Ira Levin, one of the first, highly influential horror novels of the modern period. For the most part the movie eschews creepy atmosphere, monsters, familiar horror iconography and the like as in the old Lugosi/Karloff films, bringing horror out of the dark woods and musty castles and into Manhattan and the daylight. This more prosaic approach was influential on such as Stephen King, but some viewers may find it all a little too matter of fact or just a new take on a very old notion. The devil worshippers mostly come off as normal people -- which is the point -- although it must be said that if you want your villains to appear "ordinary" you probably shouldn't cast someone as odd and rather gross as Ruth Gordon. [Sidney Blackmer is more on the mark as her husband.] The bizarre casting of some of the satanists threatens to turn the movie into more of a black comedy than a horror film, although it has to be said that Patsy Kelley is better in her role than you'd ever imagine. Charles Grodin is a doctor, as is Ralph Bellamy, and producer William Castle has a cameo as a man at a phone booth. John Cassavetes is fine as the actor-husband who finds his career suddenly taking an upswing. Elisha Cook shows up early as a rental agent, setting the tone of familiar faces often cast in sinister roles. The whole thing is rather silly all told, but undeniably entertaining. Mad Magazine did a funny spoof entitled "Rosemia's Boo Boo," with a horrified Mia looking at Alfred E. Newman in the crib. 

Verdict: Overall fun it you don't take it seriously. ***.

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959). Director: William Castle. 

"Would you like to see one of those heads? Well come and see!" 

Perverse Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) and his pretty, unloving wife Annabelle (Carol Ohmart) throw a party in a supposedly haunted house where several murders took place. Instead of inviting friends as Annabelle wanted, Loren instead invites several people who are in need of money and agrees to pay them $10,000 apiece if they spend -- and survive -- the night locked in the house. Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook) was the brother of one of the victims and explains how his sister-in-law hacked up his brother and her sister and that the police found many body parts but never found their heads. Nora Manning (Carolyn Craig) has a large family to support, and Ruth Bridgers (Julie Mitchum, sister of Robert Mitchum) has gambling debts. The group is completed with Lance Schroder (Richard Long) and Dr. David Trent (Alan Marshall), not to mention the spooky caretakers, especially Mrs. Slydes (Leona Anderson), who makes a sudden, very creepy if hilarious appearance in a dark basement room [see photo]. The dialogue by screenwriter Robb White is amusing, especially the bitchy banter between Loren and his wife. It's interesting that the house is not some Gothic structure a la Psycho, but a modern bit of architecture that resembles a museum. There are several "impossible" moments in the story, but the whole thing is still a lot of fun, with Price seemingly enjoying himself immensely. Carolyn Craig did a lot of TV work, as did Carol Ohmart. Marshall appeared in a few notable films, but this was the last of Julie Mitchum's seven credits. 

Verdict: Much, much better than the remake. ***.

STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR

STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940). Director: Boris Ingster.

Mike Ward, a reporter (John McGuire), is the chief witness against a man, Joe Briggs (Elisha Cook Jr.), who is on trial for the murder of a restaurant owner. His girlfriend, Jane (Margaret Tallichet), is haunted by her feeling that Briggs is innocent. In a striking dream sequence, Ward imagines how he, too, could be convicted of murder due to circumstance. When his neighbor is killed, he becomes convinced that the killer is an odd stranger (Peter Lorre) hanging around the building and that he probably killed the restaurateur as well. Jane sets out to find the mysterious stranger and bring him to the police. Lorre manages to make the odd and creepy stranger somewhat sympathetic, McGuire is an effective leading man, and Tallichet is lovely and capable as Jane. Although the film has clumsy moments and is a mite slow at times, and the script a bit ragged, Stranger holds the attention and is a credible enough, fairly stylish "B" movie. The ending is charming. Elisha Cook Jr. is a little overwrought even considering the situation he's in.

Margaret Tallichet had been married to William Wyler for two years -- the marriage lasted until his death in 1981 -- when she made this picture; she retired from the screen after the birth of their second of four children. Despite his good looks and obvious acting ability, John McGuire appeared chiefly as an uncredited extra in the many films he made after Stranger. Boris Ingster directed only two more films and later became a producer of such shows as The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Verdict: Another fine performance from Lorre. ***.

A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO

A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO (1942). Director: Albert L. Werker.

Stan and Ollie are hired to accompany a corpse on a train, but the coffin gets mixed up with another one employed by magician Dante in his act; the boys are soon dodging hoods who wanted to use the "body" in a scam even as they appear as assistants in Dante's stage act. The title was probably chosen because it would remind audiences of Abbott and Costello's Hold That Ghost, which was a big hit the previous year. While A-Haunting We Will Go is not a classic like the A&C film, it is still a fun, fast-moving romp with the boys doing some great bits and getting solid laughs. Elisha Cook, Jr. plays one of the hoods and even dresses up as an old granny at one point. Mantan Moreland has a brief funny bit as a waiter who serves the boys food in the dining car (the film's end-title cast-list credits Willie Best with this bit but it is clearly Moreland).

Verdict: No masterpiece, but fun. **1/2.