OF MICE AND MEN (1939)

OF MICE AND MEN (1939). Director: Lewis Milestone. 

"It's just havin' someone to talk with. It's just bein' with another guy."

George (Burgess Meredith) and his brain-damaged cousin Lennie (Lon Chaney Jr.) arrive at a ranch and hope to save up enough money to buy their own farm and be their own boss. The elderly Candy (Roman Bohnen), afraid of almost literally being put out to pasture, wants to go in with them, as does Crooks (Leigh Whipper), the black man who is isolated in his own shack away from the bunk house with the other men. But then there's the nasty little Curley (Bob Steele), the boss's son, and his bored, lonely wife, Mae (Betty Field), and the trouble they represent. John Steinbeck's heartbreaking tragedy is brought to the screen with great intensity and power and has many memorable moments: the death of Candy's dog; Curly gets his hand crushed; the climactic accidental death. Bohnen gives perhaps the best performance, but Meredith and Field are also great, and Charles Bickford, Lon Chaney Jr. and Bob Steele are no slouches. Okay, maybe the acting is a little over-emphatic at times, and Copland's score is nice but not that special. Still, this is a very strong and memorable picture. The streak of misogyny -- if that's what it is -- and the moral ambiguity of the ending, only make it more fascinating. Remade several times, including a version in 1992, starring and directed by Gary Sinise of CSI New York. 

Verdict: Another masterpiece from 1939 and a great study of loneliness. ****.

BLACK SPURS

Rory Calhoun and Linda Darnell

BLACK SPURS (1965). Director: R. G. Springsteen.

In Texas in 1885 Santee (Rory Calhoun of Night of the Lepus) is engaged to pretty Anna (Terry Moore) but he wants to wait to marry until he's made his fortune. He bids adieu to Anna and sets off to capture or kill the notorious bandit, El Pescadore (Robert Carricart), something he succeeds at. After this Santee becomes a full-time bounty hunter with many kills to his credit. Many. many months later he returns to his lady love only to learn that she has understandably married another, Sheriff Ralph Elkins (James Best) of Lash, Kansas. An embittered Santee decides to help a certain entrepreneur named Gus Kile (Lon Chaney Jr.) bring gambling and loose ladies to Lash no matter who gets hurt, but does the man have a chance at redemption?

Lon Chaney Jr. and Rory Calhoun

Black Spurs certainly has an interesting cast. Although Calhoun mostly shows the emotion of a rock, his co-players tend to be better, and this includes Linda Darnell in a small role as a madame. Darnell is a bit zaftig but not unattractive. She died in a fire before the film was released. Scott Brady plays, of all things, a priest, Richard Arlen owns the local saloon, and Bruce Cabot is an enforcer who zestily throws people out of town with a sneer or a heave. Patricia Owens and Jerome Courtland [Kiss and Tell] play lovers who aren't really married, and there is a brief appearance by pre-Star Trek DeForest Kelley as another sheriff.  Handsome Joseph Hoover has a rare (if small) speaking role as another one of Arlen's associates. Manuel Padilla Jr. [Tarzan and the Valley of Gold[ is cute as the little boy, Manuel, who loves to sing and eventually becomes disenchanted with his hero, Santee.

Black Spurs is by no means a great western but it features a basically sound storyline (albeit probably one that has been used in different variations many, many times over) and has some flavorful performances. Courtland and Owens each had one more theatrical film before doing some TV work; Courtland became a director. Calhoun and Moore had a great many more credits, and the latter is still acting today. Director R. G. Springsteen amassed nearly 100 film and TV credits, mostly working on westerns.

Verdict: Okay western for devotees. **1/2. 

MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS

Jock Mahoney

MONEY, WOMEN AND GUNS (1958). Director: Richard Bartlett.

Western detective "Silver" Ward Hogan (Jock Mahoney) rides into town and is immediately assigned the case of an elderly murdered prospector. Hogan discovers that the killer might be one of the people mentioned in the old man's will, so he sets out to find them and see what's up. The beneficiaries include a cute little boy named Davy (Tim Hovey), who lives with his widowed mother, Mary (Kim Hunter), and who ignites Hogan's cautious interest. Then there's the bearded Briggs (Don Megowan); the supposedly reformed crook Clinton Gunstone (William Campbell), who lives with his wife Mary (Judi Meredith); and the oldtimer Henry Devers (James Gleason), whose best pal is Art Birdwell (Lon Chaney, Jr.). Hogan also has a rival in bounty hunter Johnny Bee (Jeffrey Stone, who makes a good impression in a strange role).

The comically generic title of the movie, along with its poster, promises something that the flick doesn't quite deliver. One imagines Mahoney stumbling out of a dance hall with a smile on his lips and lipstick all over his face, but any dance hall gals in this movie are kept far, far in the background. Instead, Money, Women and Guns is a relatively serious and well-written western-mystery whose major flaw is its very abrupt wind-up. Smaller roles in the film are played by Phillip Terry as a lawyer, Tom Drake as the brother of two desperadoes, and Gene Evans [The Giant Behemoth] as an autocratic sheriff. Kim Hunter [The Seventh Victim] is fine if a bit out of place as Mary, little Tim Hovey is a scene stealer, and James Gleason [Racket Squad] arguably offers the best performance as Devers. Mahoney has charisma and is competent but is frankly out-classed by some of the other actors. From Universal-International, this is a color CinemaScope production.

Verdict: Entertaining, minor western with a good premise. **1/2. 

THE BLACK CASTLE

Rita Corday, Boris Karloff, Richard Greene

THE BLACK CASTLE (1952), Director: Nathan Juran.

Sir Ronald Burton (Richard Greene of The Blood of Fu Manchu) believes that an evil man named Count Karl von Bruno (Stephen McNally of The Lady Gambles) was responsible for the disappearance of two of his friends as an act of revenge for events that happened in Africa. Under an assumed name, Burton travels to von Bruno's imposing castle near the Black Forest, where he sets about trying to find evidence of his friends' possible imprisonment or deaths. Burton receives unexpected aid from the count's lovely wife, Elga (Rita Corday), who was forced to marry him, and the castle's doctor-in-residence, Meissen (Boris Karloff of Lured). But someone overhears Burton and Elga conspiring and there may be hell to pay ...

Stephen McNally

I had never even heard of this movie when I spotted it on youtube, and found it to be a pleasant surprise. Karloff plays a sympathetic role for a change, and both Greene and Corday offer admirable performances. The scene-stealer, however, is Stephen McNally, who is really excellent as the charismatic but malevolent count. McNally had always been a very contemporary kind of actor, but he handles his role in this costume melodrama with aplomb. The Black Castle might be considered more of a thriller than a horror film, but it does have such horror elements as a creepy old castle with a dungeon, people nearly being buried alive, and even a pit full of snapping alligators! In addition to the aforementioned actors, we have solid support from Lon Chaney Jr. as the brutish servant Gargon, John Hoyt as Count Stelken, Michael Pate as the sinister von Melcher, and Turo Owen as Burton's very loyal manservant, Romley, among others. Romley makes a great sacrifice, but is sort of forgotten at the end. Nathan Juran also directed The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and many, many others.

Verdict: Nifty little old castle thriller with very good performances. ***. 

NOT AS A STRANGER

Olivia de Havilland

NOT AS A STRANGER (1955). Producer/director: Stanley Kramer.

"Chris, help me, for God's sake, help me." --Lucas Marsh.

Lucas Marsh (Robert Mitchum) is determined to be a doctor but hasn't got the financial backing he needs to continue his internship. To get the money he romances the adoring Swedish nurse, Kristina (Olivia de Havilland), who has saved up quite a bit of money. The two get married, Lucas is able to complete his studies, and the couple relocate to a small town where Lucas becomes assistant to the aging family doctor, Dave Runkleman (Charles Bickford). Then there's the complication of the seductive Widow Lang (Gloria Grahame). Will Lucas ever be able to feel an honest and profound love for his wife? Not as a Stranger is a nice picture with winning performances, with Mitchum [Angel Face] doing some of the best work of his career. De Havilland [The Dark Mirror] is on the mark as Kris, as is Grahame, but she is given so little to do that it's a wonder her character was even included. It's also a mystery why Frank Sinatra [The Kissing Bandit] took the role of Al, Lucas' intern-buddy, as it's really a relatively minor supporting part. When Sinatra and Mitchum are on screen together, Frank looks unbelievably scrawny in contrast, which the crooner must have hated, but his performance is fine. Lon Chaney Jr. is not memorable as Lucas' drunken father, playing it in too obvious and phony a fashion, but Gertrude Hoffman has a nice bit as an old woman who tells the doctor that she has nowhere to go. The film introduces some weighty matters -- is the doctor's job just to keep people alive no matter what even when they're ready to let go? -- but never quite gets a grip on them. People in the doctor's office  include everyone from Nancy Kulp to Alfalfa! Lee Marvin and Mae Clarke have smaller roles as nurse and intern. Broderick Crawford offers a gruff but interesting performance as Lucas' and Al's teacher in the early hospital scenes. Franz Planer's photography is excellent, and it could be said that George Antheil's score is more than partly responsible for the whole success of the movie.

Verdict: Some moving moments and an interesting story, with a very well-cast and effective Mitchum. ***.

A LION IS IN THE STREETS

Barbara Hale and James Cagney

A LION IS IN THE STREETS (1953). Director: Raoul Walsh.

In the Louisiana backwoods, Hank Martin (James Cagney) drives his truck around selling all manner of goods to his neighbors. He meets and marries schoolteacher Verity (Barbara Hale) and takes her to his shack -- but he doesn't intend to stay there for long. Hank is convinced that Robert Castleberry (Larry Keating) is short-weighting the cotton brought to his plant and cheating the farmers, a charge strongly denied by Castleberry, creating an incident that leads to more than one death. Then Hank gets it into his head to run for governor, and makes a deal with the devil. Meanwhile his pregnant wife is unaware that Hank has turned the young woman with a crush on him, Flamingo (Anne Francis), into his mistress. This will not end well. In fact, the ending to the movie is the best thing about the picture (literally and figuratively) and perhaps Cagney's only really good acting in the film. It almost seems as if Cagney thinks that if he hollers, blusters and rages enough it will make the audience forget how utterly unconvincing the film is as a whole. A rage that might be appropriate for a gangster doesn't work at all for Hank Martin, and it's one of Cagney's rare forgettable performances. On the other hand, Barbara Hale [Perry Mason] is lovely and convincing as Verity, and Anne Francis also shines as Flamingo, and there are notable turns from Keating [When Worlds Collide]; John McIntire [Shadow on the Wall] as Jeb; and Warner Anderson as Jules. Also in the cast are Cagney's sister, Jeanne, as Jeb's wife; Lon Chaney Jr.; Ellen Corby; Onslow Stevens as a lawyer; and Sara Haden, although I didn't spot her and she seems to have no lines. The wildest scene in the movie has Flamingo trying to feed Verity to a pack of alligators out of jealousy! Franz Waxman's discordant score seems to fit, but can't help, this oddball and unmemorable movie. Apparently Walsh cut out the last third of Luthor Davis' screenplay and came up with a new finale. You also sense that several scenes, especially those pertaining to the relationship between Hank and Flamingo, were left on the cutting room floor. Similar material was already covered in the 1949 All the King's Men.

Verdict: Cagney, shamelessly chewing the scenery, is almost a parody of himself in this. **.

ONE MILLION B.C.

ONE MILLION B.C. (1940). Director: Hal Roach; Hal Roach, Jr.

A young couple take refuge in a cave, where they are told the ancient story of two lovers, Tumak (Victor Mature) and Loana (Carole Landis). The two come from different tribes -- the Rock people and the Shell people --  with Tumak's people being the more bestial of the two. Tumak is literally thrown out of their cavern by his own father, then makes his way alone until he encounters Loana. In addition to dealing with assorted human passions and jealousies, there are also a variety of carnivorous monsters to deal with. When an especially large and voracious dinosaur corners a group of Loana's people in their cavern, members of both tribes team up to banish the beast. One Million B.C. ignores the fact that human beings and dinosaurs did not ever co-exist, but tells a lively story anyhow, and there are plenty of monsters. The T-Rex -- actually someone wearing a T Rex outfit -- is laughable, but there are also the giant armadillo, a big gator in a fight with a huge lizard, and the humongous creature that shows up at the finale. The optical work is good for the most part, with an exciting earthquake (featuring a great shot showing a lava stream engulfing a woman as she tries to cross in front of it), and there's a very good score by Werner R. Heymann. The aforementioned lava stream shot, the battling giants, and the creature at the cave all turned up in numerous subsequent movies as stock footage. Mature [Kiss of Death] and Landis [Out of the Blue] give good performances, and Lon Chaney Jr. is effective as Akhoba. Remade by Ray Harryhausen in the seventies. Hal Roach also directed The Devil's Brother with Laurel and Hardy.

Verdict: Stone age lovers versus monsters! ***.

DEAD MAN'S EYES

DEAD MAN'S EYES (1944). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

This "Inner Sanctum" mystery stars, as usual, Lon Chaney Jr., as artist David Stuart. David has a girlfriend named Heather (Jean Parker of Beyond Tomorrow), whose father, Stanley (Edward Fielding) is a good friend of his. David is working on a painting of his model, Tanya (Acquanetta), when she accidentally switches a bottle of eye wash with acid, resulting in David's blindness. Tanya, who is in love with David, wants to take care of him, out of guilt, while David's buddy, Alan (Paul Kelly of The File on Thelma Jordan) wants to take care of Tanya. Stanley arranges for David to get a corneal transplant when the time comes, and ironically winds up the donor when he is murdered. Suspects include everyone from David to Tanya to Nick (George Meeker), who is hoping to marry Heather. With a very suspenseful story and some adept playing, this is one of the best in the short-lived Inner Sanctum series. Acquanetta [Captive Wild Woman] is especially effective as Tanya.

Verdict: Credible and absorbing minor mystery. ***.

PILLOW OF DEATH

PILLOW OF DEATH (1945). Director: Wallace Fox.

Donna Kincaid (Brenda Joyce of Tarzan and the Amazons) lives with her mostly stern and unpleasant relatives in a creeky old house. Her Aunt Belle (Clara Blandick) heartily disapproves of Donna's relationship with her boss, Wayne Fletcher (Lon Chaney, Jr.), because he already has a wife. This becomes moot when Mrs. Fletcher is found murdered in her bed. Things get complicated when the murders continue, with the victims always found suffocated (hence the "pillow"). In addition to the already named, the suspects include the medium, Julian (J. Edward Bromberg of The Mark of Zorro); the poor relation and servant Amelia (Rosalind Ivan of The Corn is Green); old Uncle Sam (George Cleveland); and creepy next-door neighbor Bruce (Bernard Thomas), who has a thing for Donna and is always puttering surreptitiously around the estate. Pillow of Death is decidedly one of the better "Inner Sanctum" mysteries, with an entertaining story, interesting characters, and a lot of plot twists, not to mention its quota of stupid moments along with a generous amount of suspense. The acting in general is quite good as well, with the character actors being somewhat more effective than the leads.

Verdict: Good "Inner Sanctum" mystery. ***.

SECRET AGENT X-9

SECRET AGENT X-9 (12 chapter Columbia serial/1937). Directors: Ford Beebe; Cliff Smith.

This is the first of two serials based on the Secret Agent X-9 comic strip, the latter being released in 1945. This earlier version is much, much better. Agent X-9, also known as Agent Dexter (Scott Kolk), is assigned when the Belgravian crown jewels are stolen and the agent guarding them murdered by a sinister villain known only as "Brenda." Brenda gives orders to his top aide, Blackstone (Henry Brandon), and X-9 can't quite figure whether a pretty woman involved in the case, Shara (Jean Rogers), is on the side of the angels or not. Monte Blue is Belgravia's Baron Karsten, and Lon Chaney Jr. is a hood that works for Brenda. David Oliver is Pidge, a pal of Dexter's who is not an agent but always seems to be around, managing to be both helpful and comical at times. As each chapter begins, the events of the previous installment are presented in comic strip panels. This is an exciting, well-made serial with fairly standard but adept cliffhangers [Dexter's boat nearly smashes into a large obstruction at high speed at the end of chapter one], more than adequate performances, very good chase sequences, and some lively fisticuffs. Kolk makes an appealing, boyish leading man, and the incredibly versatile Brandon (who played everyone from Fu Manchu to Barnaby in Babes in Toyland) nearly steals the show as Blackstone. Jean Rogers was Dale Arden in the Flash Gordon serials and closed out her career in The Second Woman.

Verdict: Far superior to the 1945 version with Lloyd Bridges. ***.

MAN-MADE MONSTER

MAN-MADE MONSTER (1941). Director: George Waggner.

"Those scoffers who babble of trivialities!"

Dr. Paul Rigas (the ever-delightful Lionel Atwill) wants to use electricity to turn mediocre individuals into useful members of society. Dan McCormick (Lon Chaney Jr.) seems like the perfect person to experiment on because only he survived when a bus crashed into some electric power lines, killing everyone else aboard. Reporter Mark Adams (Frank Albertson) wants to do a story on Rigas, but pretty much has to settle for romancing his associate's daughter, June (the always reliable Anne Nagel). Dan is also stuck on June, but he has more to worry about when Rigas' experiments turn him into a killing machine. The characters are one-dimensional but the actors help put this over, and there's a good score by Hans J. Salter.

Verdict: "Who can tell what tomorrow's murders may be?" **1/2.

THE CYCLOPS

THE CYCLOPS (1957). Director: Bert I. Gordon. 

"The secret of continuous, limitless multiplication of living cells in ordinary animals." 

Susan Winter (Gloria Talbott) travels to Mexico with a motley group in search of her fiance who crashed in an isolated jungle. Her companions include friend and scientist Russ (James Craig), pilot Lee (Tom Drake), and uranium-seeker Marty (Lon Chaney Jr.). Inside the "jungle" the little band discovers that radioactive properties of the soil have turned all of the animals and insects into huge monstrosities -- and what about that thirty foot giant who's wandering around? Could it be ...? Don't expect anything Oscar-worthy with The Cyclops, but it is very entertaining for those who are in a "BIG" [Bert I. Gordon] and monstrous mood. Despite it's cheapness, the film is done with a certain low-budget and economical flair. Albert Glasser's music is a plus, as usual, and the performances, especially by Chaney, are more than adequate. Gordon also directed The Amazing Colossal Man and War of the Colossal Beast, among many others. NOTE: For more on this film and others like it, see Creature Features. 

Verdict: Great fun for fans of creature features. ***.

THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE

THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE (1959). Director: Roy Del Ruth. 

Joyce Webster (Beverly Garland) is happily beginning her honeymoon with her handsome new husband Paul (Richard Crane), when he opens and reads a letter, tells her good-bye, and runs off the train to disappear. Joyce's search for the man leads her to a mansion in the swamps which is occupied by the imperious Mrs. Hawthorne (Freida Inescort, at her most imperious), a couple of cowered servants, and a weird man who sneaks in at night and plays the piano. George Macready plays a doctor who is experimenting with reptile hormones to heal mortal wounds in humans -- but the best laid plans .... Lon Chaney Jr. is a crazy guy who lives in a shack and goes on and on about how an alligator bit off his hand. The Alligator People actually has an interesting premise, a certain amount of suspense, a genuinely tragic air, and is very well acted by the entire cast, although Inescort's Southern-British accent is kind of odd. Even Richard Crane gives a much better performance than usual as a very tortured man. The make up in the film isn't bad, but a certain mask late in the picture creates unfortunate giggles. You''ll find yourself rooting for the characters to find happiness. 

Verdict: Unusual monster flick with pathos. ***.

WITCHCRAFT

WITCHCRAFT (1964). Director: Don Sharp.

When a cemetery is bulldozed the grave of a woman buried alive after being branded a witch is unearthed, unleashing a modern wave of witchcraft in a small British community. There's also a feud going on between two families, one of whom is related to the witch. Lon Chaney Jr. shows up now and then as an angry descendant of the witch to enliven the mostly dull proceedings. The music by Carlo Martelli seems to do all the work. The murder scenes aren't done with any flair. The production is professional but bland. Unimaginative treatment of over-familiar material. No-name cast does its best but this is a loser practically all the way.

Verdict: Skip it. *1/2.

HOUSE OF DRACULA

HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945). Director: Erle C. Kenton.

Sequel to House of Frankenstein ignores the fact that both Dracula and The Wolf Man seemingly died at the end of that film and has both Larry Talbot(Lon Chaney Jr.) and Count Dracula (improbably) asking decent Dr. Edelman (Onslow Stevens) to cure them of their respective curses. Conveniently, Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) is found in the caverns below Edelman's sanitarium, along with the skeleton of Dr. Niemann from House of Frankenstein. Before long Dracula (John Carradine) is up to his old tricks, infecting Edelman (who becomes a sort of vampire without dying) with his evil -- Talked out of reviving the monster by his kindly hunchbacked assistant Nina (Jane Adams), he now decides to bring the creature back to life in the climax. Strangely compelling horror film plays fast and loose with supernatural legends, but offers a kind of scientific explanation for both vampirism (parasites in the blood) and lycanthropy (something to do with self-hypnosis, overactive hormones, and pressure in the cranial cavity). Lionel Atwill is back as another police inspector. The Wolf Man and Dracula are in the same room only for a few seconds. They would interact more -- and Dracula would actually meet The Monster -- in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Verdict: Great fun! ***.

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948). Director: Charles Barton.

Costello (to pretty Lenore Aubert): How can you look me in the face and say that?

Abbott (to Aubert): How can you look him in the face?

Abbott and Costello's greatest movie pits them against Dracula (played by Bela Lugosi for only the second time), who wants to transplant Lou's brain into the Frankenstein Monster (Glenn Strange) so he'll have a more controllable ally. Lon Chaney plays Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, for the fifth time, and is better in this film than he was in the "serious" ones. Talbot knows what Dracula's up to, and wants the boys to help him stop the evil count. Aiding the count is Dr. Sandra Aubrey (Lenore Aubert), who pretends she's smitten with Lou to keep him -- or rather his simple brain -- at the ready. Charles Bradstreet plays an out-of-the-loop doctor-associate of Aubert's, and Jane Randolph is an insurance investigator who attaches herself to the boys in the hopes of finding out what happened to the contents of two coffins the boys delivered to a House of Horrors. (Frank Ferguson is very good as the angry, exasperated owner of the House of Horrors.) Glenn Strange is effective and even has a couple of lines as The Monster (who only spoke in Bride of Frankenstein and in Ghost of Frankenstein after Igor/Lugosi's brain was transplanted into his head). Vincent Price has a very funny cameo.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is not a parody a la Young Frankenstein so much as it's a Universal horror film into which the boys have been inserted. The guys do their amusing routines, while everyone else mostly plays it straight -- and it works! Funny, atmospheric, and creepy in equal measure, it has some genuinely suspenseful sequences and is bolstered by a terrific score by Frank Skinner. Bud and Lou are in top form and Bela Lugosi is simply splendid!

Verdict: Terrific horror comedy! ***1/2.

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943). Director: Roy William Neill.

Although we never learn why, two grave robbers try to remove Larry Talbot's body from its resting place in the Talbot family crypt, bringing The Wolf Man back to life. Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) gets it into his head that Dr. Frankenstein might be able to help him, and he seems to be referring to Henry, but most of the story takes place in Vasaria and the dead Frankenstein's daughter Elsa (now played by Ilona Massey) makes a reference to her "father and grandfather" -- presumably she's the grand-daughter of Henry -- and there is also a reference to the sanitarium that burned down at the end of The Ghost of Frankenstein. However, Vasaria now has a Frankenstein castle as well. (Presumably the producers figured nobody would clearly remember everything, this being long before the days of VCRs, DVDs, and instant replay). As Ygor's brain was transferred into the monster's body at the end of Ghost, it's only fitting that Bela Lugosi, who played Ygor, would now play the monster. His approach is to make the creature sneering, and even a bit haughty (supposedly his dialogue was cut, even though he spoke through the monster's mouth in Ghost). Maria Ouspenkaya reprises her role as Maleva from The Wolf Man. Patric Knowles is stalwart as the doctor who wants to help Talbot but seems more intrigued by the monster. Ilona Massey looks as if she wandered into the wrong movie. Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man is highly contrived and illogical, although it moves fast and is pretty entertaining. Still it's a cut below the previous entries in the series. The climax features a not-so-epic battle between the title monsters. Lionel Atwill is the Mayor and Dwight Frye again plays a distinctive villager. Followed by House of Frankenstein.

Verdict: Still fun. **1/2.

THE MUMMY'S TOMB

THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1942). Director: Harold Young.

A generation after the events of The Mummy's Hand, Steve Banning (Dick Foran) is a widower and senior citizen telling his sister (Mary Gordon), son John (John Hubbard), and John's girl, Isobel (Elyse Knox) about his adventures in Egypt as recounted in the previous film. Little does he know that both the mummy, Kharis and his High Priest Andohep (George Zucco) are somehow still alive and up to mischief. Andohep sends Mehmet (Turhan Bey) and Kharis to the small town of Mapleton, Massachusetts where Banning lives in order to wipe out all members of the family of the man who dared to desecrate Kharis' tomb. Shuffling, creepy Kharis manages to cause a lot of mischief in this one. An older and more serious "Babe" (Wallace Ford) also shows up (with a new last name). Lon Chaney Jr. plays the mummy and is completely unrecognizable. He shuffles around as well as anyone. Followed by The Mummy's Ghost.

Verdict: Somewhat creepy and lots of fun. ***.

THE MUMMY'S CURSE

THE MUMMY'S CURSE (1944). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

Back in the days long before DVDs and VCRs producers figured they could fudge a bit in the details of their sequels because nobody would remember the details anyway. Thus the fact that Kharis walks into a swamp in Massachusetts with his beloved Ananka at the end of The Mummy's Ghost doesn't prevent the two of them emerging from a swamp in Louisiana halfway across the country in The Mummy's Curse. The fact that the reincarnation of Ananka was actually a lovely young woman named Amina has also been forgotten or simply dispensed with as irrelevant. [While it might have been interesting if Amina's parents were still alive and saw her with her youth preserved, the movie doesn't explore this situation.] Twenty-five years have gone by since Kharis and Ananka entered the swamp and the Scripps museum wants to interfere with an engineering project in the hopes of getting both mummies back. Lon Chaney Jr. gets to emote much more as the slow but unstoppable mummy in this venture, the last of the series, and the movie is especially rich in atmosphere. Dr. Zandab (Peter Coe) and Ragheb (Martin Kosleck) are the bad guys, and Virginia Christine (best known years later as the matronly Mrs. Olson of the Folger coffee commercials) gives a particularly effective performance as Ananka, who screams like the Bride of Frankenstein seeing old Franky when she spots her ancient lover sheathed in bandages. The scene where Ananka claws her way out of the mud is memorable, and there are great shots of a ghostly abandoned monastery where the bad guys wait and plot. "Most Egyptians doubt the legend of Kharis," we're told. Addison Richards is the head engineer, Walsh; Kay Harding is his daughter Betty; Kurt Katch is Cajun Joe; and Dennis Moore is Betty's love interest, Dr. Halsey. [Moore starred in the 1946 serial The Mysterious Mr. M.] Next came Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy.

Verdict: Universal's final Kharis epic is still good fun. ***.

THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN

THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942). Director: Erle C. Kenton.

Yes, it's no surprise that Ygor (Bela Lugosi) and the monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) survived the conflagration at the end of Son of Frankenstein. Together the two travel to Vasaria, where they hope to find another son of Frankenstein, Ludwig von Frankenstein (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), who runs a sanitarium. Realizing that only dissection will dispose of the monster, but not wanting to commit murder, Ludwig decides to replace the monster's criminal brain with one from a decent colleague slain by the creature. Doctor Bohmer (Lionel Atwill), a jealous assistant, decides instead to accede to Ygor's suggestion and place his brain in the monster. Lon Chaney's monster isn't especially memorable, but Hardwicke, Atwill and especially Lugosi, are marvelous. Ralph Bellamy is the boyfriend of Elsa Frankenstein (Evelyn Ankers), and Dwight Frye is on hand in the small role of a villager. If anything this is more illogical than Son of Frankenstein, but it's also fast and entertaining, with a fine musical score by Hans J. Salter. Followed by Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.

Verdict: There's no stopping Franky boy! ***.