BROOKLYN ORCHID

BROOKLYN ORCHID (1942). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Tim McGuerin (William Bendix) and Eddie Corbett (Joe Sawyer) are partners in a cab company. McGuerin is married to Sadie (Grace Bradley of The Invisible Killer), a former burlesque queen who now acts like she's To the Manor Born. Sadie can't stand Eddie's fiancee, Mabel (Florine McKinney of Beauty for Sale), who always needles her about her past. Ducking out from a party honoring the rather obnoxious pianist, Ignatz Rachkowsky (Leonid Kinskey), the two fellows try out Tim's anniversary gift of a fishing pole, and they net themselves a gal who has just tried to commit suicide. This gal, Lucy (Marjorie Woodworth), is angry that they saved her and insists that they take care of her, going so far as to try to move into the McGuerins' high-tone apartment. Tim and Eddie do their best to keep their respective ladies from finding out about Lucy, but she follows them on vacation, where she is pursued by an amorous wealthy man named Goodweek (Skeets Gallagher of The Meanest Gal in Town). Then Lucy runs into Sadie and Mabel and they all compare notes ... 

Brooklyn Orchid -- the title refers to a flower girl contest won by Lucy -- is the second of three comedies featuring Bendix and Sawyer as McGuerin and Corbett. (Brooklyn Orchid is wrongly listed as the first in some sources). The players are all game and adept at this kind of farce -- Kinskey is a riot and Jack Norton (of Fashion Model)  nearly steals the show as an inebriated music critic -- and there are a few laugh-out-loud moments, but the ultimate result is like a TV sitcom that treads overly familiar territory. As good as they are, Bendix and Sawyer are no Laurel and Hardy. 

Verdict: Some limited fun in this amiable comedy. **1/2. 

TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD WOMAN

TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD WOMAN (1946). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Sworn to bring back Tarzan's body for fiendish jungle ritual! -- ad copy.

If only Tarzan and the Leopard Woman had delivered on the promise of its advertising tagline, even if it does, in a way, sum up the plot. High Priestess Lea (Acquanetta of Jungle Woman) of the Bogandis is working in cahoots with native-born Dr. Ameer Lazar (Edgart Barrier). The doctor feigns friendliness with the townspeople of Zambeza but is really out for vengeance. Lea and Lazar lead a group of cultists who wear leopard skins and claws to make it look as if real leopards are tearing apart their victims. Lea's young brother, Kimba (Tommy Cook), hopes to prove his manhood by stealing away someone's heart, and shows up at Tarzan's enclave pretending to be homeless and hungry. Boy (Johnny Sheffield) is suspicious about Kimba and the two have a fight, with Cheeta entering the fray. Lazar has several nubile schoolgirls kidnapped to be sacrifices, and also plans on killing Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), Boy, and Jane (Brenda Joyce). The best performance is delivered by little Tommy Cook, who previously appeared as the native boy Kimbu  in the excellent serial Jungle Girl, then grew up to amass 100 credits in such films as Missile to the Moon. Although the Tarzan series had become more kid-friendly by this time, Kimba's ultimate fate is rather grim. The other performances are pretty much what you would expect; Edgar Barrier is Edgar Barrier.

Verdict: Acceptable Tarzan flick with a not-bad finale. **1/2.

TARZAN AND THE SHE-DEVIL

Tom Conway, Monique van Vooren, Raymond Burr

TARZAN AND THE SHE-DEVIL (1953). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Three characters named Vargo (Raymond Burr), Fidel (Tom Conway) and Lyra (Monique van Vooren) -- who I believe is never referred to as a "she-devil" in the film -- conspire to round up a herd of elephants for their ivory. Since they are entering dangerous territory and the beasts may be difficult to handle, the trio decide to get Tarzan's (Lex Barker) help by kidnapping Jane (Joyce Mackenzie). When the villains think Jane has been killed in a fire, a despondent Tarzan barely has the strength to fight back when he is made captive. Tarzan and the She-Devil certainly has an interesting cast: Barker makes a fine Tarzan; Mackenzie [Destination Murder] is more than adequate as his mate; Burr [Pitfall] is very good in a villainous role; and Tom Conway [A Night of Adventure] saunters through with as little energy as possible. A big problem with the film is that while van Vooren is pretty (she somewhat resembles Hedy Lamarr), and is an adequate in her role, she lacks that certain something that would really make her a "she-devil." If only Mari Blanchard or Marie Windsor had been cast in the part! There's a fairly exciting elephant stampede at the end in which the bad guys get a fitting comeuppance. Still, this is not one of the better Tarzan movies. This was Lex Barker's last appearance as Tarzan. All of the natives in the movie are white!

Verdict: Jane never even gives Lyra a whack in the face! **.

COUNTERPLOT

Allison Hayes

COUNTERPLOT (1959). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Brock Miller (Forrest Tucker) is hiding out in San Juan after being accused of murdering a man in New York who owed him money. He has befriended a boy named Manuel (Jackie Wayne), and has a girlfriend, a singer, named Connie (Allison Hayes). Fritz Bergmann (Gerald Milton) a portly lawyer and apparent owner of the club where Connie works, has knowledge that might clear Brock, but there's interference from the victim's business partner, Ben Murdock (Richard Verney). Spargo (Miquel Angel Alvarez) tries to play both men against each other for a price. It all comes together for a final shoot-out. Counterplot has some good acting in it, especially from the dynamic Milton, and Allison Hayes, the 50-foot Woman herself, is warmer and more sympathetic than usual. Jackie Wayne is a talented and appealing child actor who appeared in the original stage production of "Damn Yankees;" Counterplot is his only movie credit. Milton was mostly a television actor who also appeared in Unknown Terror. Forrest Tucker [Fresh from Paris] basically plays the same dull "Forrest Tucker" character. Photographed by Karl Struss [Sunrise], who did many films with director Neumann .

Verdict: A melodrama that holds the attention but never quite catches fire. **1/2.

BAD BOY

Audie Murphy

BAD BOY (1949). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Danny Lester (Audie Murphy) is an incorrigible, nasty young man who beats, shoots and robs and is nearly sentenced to a reformatory or prison. However Marshall Brown (Lloyd Nolan) is convinced, without any real basis, that Danny's anti-social tendencies stem from something that happened in his youth. [Danny acts like a sociopathic creep, so it's a question if what happened in his youth even matters, but in movies like Bad Boy there has to be some dubious psychological explanation.] Brown importunes Judge Prentiss (Selena Royle) to take Danny under his wing and bring him to the Variety Clubs Boys Ranch in Texas, where he steals, acts all bitter, and has the boys so mad at him that they all give him the silent treatment. Can this boy be saved...? In his first starring role Murphy, the most decorated soldier in WW2, proves not to be a "great" actor, but is more than competent, displaying charisma and surliness in equal measure; he would develop in time. Jimmy Lydon of the Henry Aldrich series plays another student, Ted, and is excellent, as is James Gleason [The Girl Rush] as Brown's more cynical associate, "Chief." Jane Wyatt [The Man Who Cheated Himself] is Brown's wife; Martha Vickers is Danny's half sister; and Rhys Williams [The Corn is Green] is his step-father. There are some fairly interesting developments in this but the movie never really amounts to much. Murphy would go on to better things. Murphy single-handedly held off a squadron of German soldiers while standing atop a tank that could have exploded at any second -- it's safe to say Hollywood couldn't have scared him that much!

Verdict: Half-baked melodrama. **1/2.

TARZAN AND THE AMAZONS

TARZAN AND THE AMAZONS (1945). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Jane (now played by Brenda Joyce of Little Giant) returns to Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), Boy (Johnny Sheffield), Cheeta, and Africa in this entertaining installment of the highly popular series. Tarzan rescues a young lady, Athena (Shirley O'Hara), and takes her back to her people, a race of Amazons in a handsome city nestled in a valley. Jane importunes archaeologist Sir Guy Henderson (Henry Stephenson) to lead his group to this hidden city for the sake of science, but Ballister (Barton MacLane of The Mummy's Ghost) and his cohorts have no such noble motives, being primarily interested in looting the city's treasure. The Amazon queen (Maria Ouspenskaya of Dance, Girl, Dance) refuses to let the men leave, and even tries to sacrifice Boy, who foolishly leads the group to the city even after Tarzan has forbidden it. Tarzan and the Amazons is entertaining and well-done, its one flaw being a much too abrupt climax.

Verdict: Tarzan Always Knows Better! ***.

ROCKETSHIP X-M

The astronauts explore red planet Mars

ROCKETSHIP X-M (1950). Director/producer/writer: Kurt Neumann.

The first manned spaceship and its team -- consisting of Colonel Floyd Graham (Lloyd Bridges), Major William Corrigan (Noah Beery Jr.), Dr. Karl Eckstrom (John Emery of Kronos),  Dr. Lisa Van Horn (Osa Massen), and Harry Chamberlain (Hugh O'Brian) -- take off for the moon but somehow, as if they were Abbott and Costello, wind up on Mars instead. Wandering around in stark, red-tinted landscapes, they discover stone age savages and eventually come to a depressing realization. The decent production values insure that the sets and FX are less cheesy than they are in similar movies, and there's a nice theme by Ferde Grofe [Albert Glasser was musical director]. The picture was also photographed by Karl Struss [Sunrise] and has a downbeat conclusion. Morris Ankrum gives perhaps the best performance as Dr. Fleming back on earth. There are no giant spiders in this although some may feel it could have used them.

Verdict: Not quite serious sci fi but close. ***.

SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM

SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM (1933). Director: Kurt Neumann.

"It must be terrible to be a man and have to pretend to be brave."

At a birthday party for his beautiful daughter, Irene (Gloria Stuart), Robert von Helldorf (Lionel Atwill) tells his guests -- Walter (Paul Lukas), Frank (Onslow Stevens) and Thomas (William Janney) -- the story of the blue room in the old castle in which he resides: over the years more than one person has been found dead in the locked room, including his own sister. Thomas suggests that each man (all of whom are in love with the quite lovely Irene) spend the night in the room to prove their bravery. Of course it's no surprise when the first of them turns up missing in the morning, the room still locked. [Without giving anything away, everyone assumes he's gone out the window into the moat twenty feet below, yet he had a key which worked on either side of the door and could easily have exited the room and locked the door behind him.] Then another of the suitors spends the night in the room and ... A police commissioner (Edward Arnold) is called in to find out what's up, and the suspects include the butler, Paul (Robert Barrat of Lily Turner), the maid, Betty (Muriel Kirkland), the chauffeur, Max (Russell Hopton), and the very nervous cook, Mary (Elizabeth Patterson). There's also a weird stranger on the loose scaring the wits out of Irene. The secret of the Blue Room doesn't come as that big of a surprise, but the climactic chase in long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle is exciting. Secret of the Blue Room is entertaining, atmospheric, and reasonably well-acted by all. Neumann also directed Kronos and many others.

Verdict: A bit creaky but fun. **1/2.

THE FLY (1958)

THE FLY (1958). Director: Kurt Neumann.

George Langelaan's novelette "The Fly," originally published in Playboy in 1957, is one of the all-time great terror stories, presenting a fascinating scientific notion and elaborating it by piling horror upon horror. The film version, with a screenplay by James Clavell, is very faithful to the story in most respects. Andre Delambre (David Hedison, billed as Al) has invented a matter transmitter [years before Star Trek's teleportation device] that can send things and people from one chamber to the next, and theoretically will be able to ship supplies and individuals to other countries and even planets. Unfortunately, Delambre is careless and allows a common house fly to get into the chamber just as he is about to teleport himself into the next room, resulting in a man with a horrible fly's head [but human brain -- at first] and a fly with a tiny human head and leg [apparently matter transmission can redistribute atoms and change sizes, but no bother]. The film, like the story, unfolds as a mystery, as Delambre's wife Helene (Patricia Owens) tries to explain to her brother-in-law Francois (Vincent Price) and Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall) why she lowered a crushing mechanical press down onto the body of her husband, nearly obliterating his form. [The shot of the lower half of Delambre sticking out from under the press, a puddle of blood surrounding it, especially gruesome in color, was undoubtedly cut out of television prints.] Hedison is fine as Delambre, although most of the time he has to wear a not-very-convincing mask. Although she gets an A for effort and has a few good moments, Patricia Owens is generally out of her depth as the wife who is nearly driven mad by the grotesque developments of the story. Vincent Price pretty much walks through the movie, seemingly disinterested in the material, but Herbert Marshall is solid and professional, as ever, as the police inspector. The climactic scene with the fly caught in the spider's web still packs a horrifying wallop. Although there are unfortunate elements to the movie that border on burlesque, it works as a mostly effective tragic horror flick. Kurt Neumann's [Carnival Story, Kronos] direction is only standard, however, and the film is not as good as the novella. Paul Sawtell's score, including a generic love theme, is likewise mediocre. Photographed by Karl Struss, who often worked with Neumann. Kathleen Freeman has a small role as a maid who tries to find "the fly with a white head."

Verdict: Imaginative and in some ways rather disgusting. ***.

CARNIVAL STORY

Anne Baxter and George Nader

CARNIVAL STORY (1954). Director: Kurt Neumann.

"If you were starving to death, howling for food, I wouldn't throw you a rotten bone."

In this arresting and amusing melodrama, a female pickpocket named "Willie" (Anne Baxter) joins up with an American circus traveling in Germany. She falls hard for her first benefactor, Joe Hammond (Steve Cochran), but winds up doing a high-diving act with Frank Collini (Lyle Bettger). The third man in her life is photographer Bill Vines (George Nader), not to mention the circus owner Charley (Jay C. Flippen) and the mute strong man Groppo (Adi Berber). While hardly a filmic masterpiece, Carnival Story is very entertaining and Baxter gives a riveting performance, be it great acting or not. The supporting cast is also quite good, and there's a nice, evocative score by Willy Schmidt Gentner. Part Italian opera, part E.C. horror story, part masochistic romance, the movie is a lot of fun. Neumann also directed Kronos and Mohawk.

Verdict: Anne chews up the scenery, the dialogue, and everything else -- good for her! ***.

KRONOS

KRONOS (1957). Director: Kurt Neumann.

An asteroid approaches the earth and lands in the ocean off the coast of Mexico. But wait a minute -- didn't it veer and turn direction at the last moment? Scientist Dr. Gaskell (Jeff Morrow) senses that there's more to this "asteroid" than meets the eye and wouldn't you know he's right. Before too long the ocean is boiling and up from the depths comes a 100 foot high, robotic "energy assimilator" which Gaskell christens Kronos after the monster of mythology. Sent by an alien race to steal energy supplies, Kronos tears across the land sucking up power from atomic plants and causing general mayhem. This is an entertaining science fiction "monster" flick with a fairly able cast. Morrow is as professional and enthusiastic as ever. John Emery is another scientist whose mind is taken over by an alien intelligence. Barbara Lawrence, who played herself in The Star as a young rival to Bette Davis' character, is cast as Vera Hunter, Gaskell's assistant and lover. Morris Ankrum is a doctor who discovers what's wrong with Emery, and George O'Hanlon is another nerdy scientist who has a computer nicknamed "Suzie." The score by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter is effective at increasing tension and the movie is well-photographed by Karl Struss (it's best to see it in wide screen format). Marjorie Stapp of The Indestructible Man has a small role as a nurse. The best scene has the scientists landing on top of Kronos in a copter as it makes unnerving noises and begins to open up ... Creepy.

Verdict: Maybe not a classic, but it has its moments. **1/2.

MOHAWK

MOHAWK (1956). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Unless you have a mania for westerns, there's probably no good reason to see this unless it's to see how Allison Hayes (pictured with Scott Brady), star of the "classic" Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, comports herself in a more "serious" film. Hayes wasn't so hot in Zombies of Mora Tau, but she isn't half-bad in Mohawk (though no Kate Hepburn). Scott Brady plays John Adams, a painter who works out of an Army fort. Hayes is his zesty model, Greta, but he also has a fiancee named Cynthia (Lori Nelson) who shows up unannounced at the fort with her peppery Aunt Agatha (Vera Vague) in tow; Nelson once again proves what a mediocre actress she is. While juggling these two babes, Adams discovers that there's also an Indian wench, Onida (Rita Gam), who has a hankering for him, and vice versa. Meanwhile, some renegade Indians are planning an attack on the fort. Supposedly all the action footage comes from John Ford's Drums Along the Mohawk, but none of it is very convincing. John Hoyt is Butler, the white villain of the piece, and Tommy Cook does a nice turn as the doomed Indian lad Keoga. It's a pleasant surprise to see who Adams winds up with at the end. Handsome production is well photographed by Karl Struss and has an effective score by Edward L. Alperson, Jr.

Verdict: See it for saucy Hayes if you must. **.