BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1962)

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.

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.

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. ***. 

ATLANTIS THE LOST CONTINENT

ATLANTIS, THE LOST CONTINENT (1961). Director: George Pal.

Although this film certainly has its detractors, I confess it has remained quite enjoyable to me over the years. Demetrios (Anthony Hall aka Sal Ponti) and his father are out fishing when they come upon a young woman, Antillia (Joyce Taylor) afloat in the sea, who insists that she is not only a princess but that she comes from a great land beyond the pillars of Hercules, where the known world ends. Demetrios winds up taking her home with the understanding that if they don't come upon this mystical land in a number of days, they will return to Greece and Antillia must marry him. Instead they wind up on the fabled continent of Atlantis, where Antillia's father, the king, wears a hollow crown and the evil Zaren (John Dall) is the true ruler. Atlantis enslaves every foreigner who lands on its shores, even Demetrios, and is planning to attack other nations with deadly weapons. Although the oh-so-pious character of Azor (Ed Platt) is a bit of a killjoy, Atlantis is still a lot of fun, especially the Ordeal of Fire and Water in which Demetrios wins his freedom, Platt and Dall having a battle, the bull-men in their cells lorded over by Surgeon (Berry Kroeger -- yes it's Berry not Barry), and the whole climax with the effective sinking of Atlantis and the running-wild "beta disintegrator" or whatzis that Zaren tries to vaporize half the city with. Wild! Hall is fine; Taylor, who could give some bad performances, is quite good as the haughty princess; and Dall of Rope fame is sneering perfection. [Dall offered a more sympathetic portrayal and was excellent in The Corn is Green.) To my astonishment I only realized on this viewing that the character of Xandros, the Greek slave befriended by Demetrios, is played by Great Old Movies' old friend, the wonderful Jay Novello, another example of how this fine actor could lose himself in a characterization. Ed Platt, of course, appeared to great advantage on the show Get Smart.

Verdict: No, it's not Pal's The War of the Worlds, but it's fun! ***.