PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES

Angel Aranda and Barry Sullivan

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (aka Terrore nello spazio/1965). Director: Mario Bava.

Two spaceships, the Argos and the Galleon, led respectively by Mark (Barry Sullivan of Pyro) and his brother, Toby (Alberto Cevenini), respond to a distress signal from an isolated planet. When the Argos lands, the crew members inexplicably begin attacking each other, and the crew of the Galleon, which already landed, are eventually found dead. Regaining control of their minds, Mark, crewmembers Wes (Angel Aranda), Sonya (Norma Bengell), Tiona ((Evi Marandi), and others, are baffled and terrified when some of the dead appear to them, seemingly alive. Something on this planet is a decided enemy of theirs ...

Trapped with the giant alien skeleton

The highly influential Planet of the Vampires is as colorful and entertaining as an E.C. sci fi comic book of the fifties. Perhaps the best scene has Mark and Sonya trapped inside an alien spaceship -- which also responded to a distress call centuries ago -- inside which is the skeleton of a creature three times their size. Something starts sucking the air out of the chamber as the two try desperately to find a way out. But their true enemy is more or less invisible and that much more dangerous. 

the crew of the Argos

Planet of the Vampires, along with It, the Terror from Beyond Space,  undoubtedly stirred the imaginations of the creators of Alien. The similarities are numerous: in both films the protagonists respond to a distress signal; the shape of the spaceships, including orifice-like exits; the derelict spaceship and the huge alien skeleton found inside. One could argue that its sequences in which colleagues and loved ones come back from the dead are reminiscent of the later Night of the Living Dead, as well. 

Angel Aranda

Director Mario Bava cleverly expands a small budget with his trademark attractive, even garish color schemes, the use of shadows and fog, and camera angles that add to the eerie atmosphere. The spacemen wear black leather outfits that come off as perhaps a little too stylish. Barry Sullivan, whose real voice is heard in this Italian production, is professional although the role is not really a good fit for him. He shows little reaction when he finds out his brother is dead -- or "alive." The other actors all seem adept. Angel Aranda reminds one of Mark Damon of House of Usher. The downbeat "surprise" ending is also typical of fifties sci fi comics. 

Verdict: Very interesting sixties science fiction. ***. 

FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON

FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON (aka 5 Dolls for an August Moon/5 bambole per la luna d'agosto1970). Director: Mario Bava.

George Stark (Teodoro Corra) has invited several friends and associates to his modish estate on an isolated island. George is married to Jill (Edith Meloni), but she is in love with Trudy (Ira von Furstenberg), who is married to Professor Gerry Farrell (William Berger). George, Nick (Maurice Poli) and Jack (Howard Ross) each offer Farrell a million dollars for a formula he has created, then decide to team up and offer him the whole three million, but Gerry isn't willing to sell. Things take a dark turn when houseboy Charles (Mauro Bosco), who was carrying on with Nick's wife, Marie (Edwige Fenech of Next!), turns up stabbed to death, and more murders follow. Before you can say Ten Little Indians more and more bodies are wrapped in plastic and deposited in the freezer in scenes that seem increasingly comical. Most of the actors only register the mildest of dismay over this appalling situation, and Piero Umiliani's wretched musical score never seems to have any relationship to what's actually occurring on screen. The movie has virtually no atmosphere, although the house it is played out in is at least a bit interesting. The murders are mostly bloodless and have no style whatsoever. On the plus side, just about everything is explained (if not quite satisfactorily) at the end, and the movie manages to build up some suspense over who the killer is in spite of its shortcomings. "Everybody seems to be waiting for something that's not happening," muses one character. You can say that again! Bava followed this up with Twitch of the Death Nerve, which is better and bloodier. Bava's best shocker was Blood and Black Lace.

Verdict: Has intriguing elements but not one of Bava's best. **1/2.

THOSE BLOODY ITALIANS

This week Great Old Movies takes a look at Italian horror films, specifically those bloody "giallo" movies or gialli (the plural).

"Giallo" simply means yellow in Italian. (You would think it would denote the color red for blood, but the term derives from Italian pulp-type fiction with yellow covers.) But giallo has come to mean a certain type of mystery film or thriller. It has a broader usage in Italy itself, but elsewhere it denotes a specific type of shocker. There is usually an unknown maniac (or at least someone who acts like a maniac but may be quite sane and cunning) on the loose killing several victims in often flamboyant and vicious ways. There is a gruesome emphasis on the deaths. And a convoluted plot that may lead decades back into the past to explain motives or bring the killer to light.

Gialli were influential in some ways on the American slasher films that followed, although these tended to have much more simplistic plot lines. One could also argue that Brian De Palma, who made very classy "slasher" films at the beginning of his career, was as much influenced by Italian gialli as he was by Hitchcock.

Probably the first great giallo director was Mario Bava, whose Blood and Black Lace was very influential on later films, including those by the second great giallo director, Dario Argento. (Argento should certainly have been represented in this week's films, but when I put in my DVD of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage it proved to be defective. However, type in his name in the search bar above and many of his films will come up.) Argento helmed such gems as Deep Red and Dario Argento's Trauma, both of which are masterpieces of the genre.

DANGER: DIABOLIK

Dead or only resting? John Phillip Law as Diabolik

DANGER: DIABOLIK (aka Diabolik/1968). Director: Mario Bava.

Diabolik (John Phillip Law) is a ruthless master criminal who dresses in a black leather outfit that only exposes his eyes. He lives in an elaborate HQ with pools, caverns, equipment, and a humongous revolving bed, and shares his life and crimes with his girlfriend, Eva (Marisa Mell). His chief opponent is Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli), who is determined to bring him to justice. To that end Ginko forces hoodlum Ralph Valmont (Adolfo Celi of Thunderball) to arrange to kidnap Eve and ensnare Diabolik in a trap. "It takes a thief to catch a thief," intones Ginko. Danger: Diabolik is based on an Italian comic book which in turn was inspired by the adventures of French criminal Fantomas. The movie is very sixties in its pop-style sensibility, and at least one scene reminds one of the Batman TV series, but for the most part the pic is played more or less straight. Diabolik's schemes, especially as they pertain to some stolen emeralds and faking his own death, are extremely clever, and there's a neat sequence when Valmont and Diabolik are fighting each other even after they've fallen out of an airplane. The movie boasts some interesting settings and scenic design but Ennio Morricone's score is just horrible. Law [The Sergeant] makes a splendid Diabolik; Mell [One On Top of the Other] is effective as Eve; Celi and Piccoli are each fine as crook and inspector; and Terry-Thomas is wonderful as a dignitary trying to hold on to his dignity. This is much better than the sixties Fantomas movie, and much, much better than horror-specialist Bava's other "spy" pic, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs.

Verdict: Highly entertaining comic book flick with a completely amoral "hero." ***.

SHOCK (1977)

SHOCK (aka Beyond the Door 2/1977). Director: Mario Bava.

Dora Baldini (Daria Nicolodi of Opera), her second husband Bruno (John Steiner of The Devil Within Her) and her little boy Marco (David Colin Jr.) move into the home she previously occupied with her late first husband, a drug addict who presumably committed suicide. Being in the house -- a rather bad idea -- has an effect on Dora, as it seems to have on her son, an adorable seven-year-old child who begins doing upsetting things that he later tearfully denies. Bruno thinks it is all in Dora's head, reminding her of her stay in a mental institution after her husband's suicide. But do Dora and Bruno have other secrets as well ... Shock is Bava's last film, and it's not one of his best, although the story does lead up to some interesting twists and the performances are good. Little Colin is a wonderful scene-stealing child actor who easily walks off with the movie. There are some genuinely creepy moments in this, but the movie is still tedious and silly for much of its length. Steiner was a British actor who did much work in Italy, including Tenebrae, which starred Nicolodi. Shock was released in the U.S. as Beyond the Door 2 after the success of the original, which is related only in that Colin Jr. also had a role at the ripe old age of 3. Shock has been vastly over-rated by Bava fanatics.

Verdict: What this needs is a little more shock. **1/2.

DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS

Who cares? Just give me the check!

DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS (aka Le spie vengono dal semifreddo/1966). Director: Mario Bava.

Probably due to the ad campaign, the spy craze of the period, and the presence of Vincent Price, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikimi Machine was a hit for AIP. A year later the inevitable sequel materialized, with Price reprising his role of the diabolical doctor who has escaped death and is now blowing up horny generals by using beautiful robot girls full of explosives. Instead of Frankie Avalon, we have another teen idol, Fabian, playing spy, and there are two Italian alleged comedians who also play bumbling agents. Goldfoot's ultimate scheme is to drop a super-hydrogen bomb on Moscow, bringing about WW3. Goldfoot also has a pool full of piranha who never figure in the plot, as well as another general who happens to be Goldfoot's twin -- nothing much happens with that, either. Despite the fact that Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs has one more laugh-out-loud moment than Bikini Machine -- bringing the total up to half a dozen (that's one laugh every fifteen minutes) -- it's an even worse movie than its predecessor. Price, with both eyes on his paycheck and certainly not on the script, gives a gleefully hammy performance and probably never sat through this crapola himself -- if only his fans had been spared! As an actor, Fabian [A Bullet for Pretty Boy] actually amassed 48 credits. Possibly Mario Bava's worst movie.

Verdict: Just awful. 1/2*.

BLACK SUNDAY

Barbara Steele in satanic mode

BLACK SUNDAY (aka The Mask of Satan/La maschera del demonio/1960.) Director: Mario Bava.

This is the first film for which Bava was credited as director. The witch Asa (Barbara Steele) has a spiked mask hammered into her face and is entombed, but many years later some blood drips onto the mask and the witch is revived to get revenge on the descendants of those who destroyed her. Asa would also love to possess the mind and body of her lookalike, Katia (Steele, of course). Katia's brother Constantine (Enrico Olivieri) and doctor (John Richardson) do their best to foil the plans of the hateful and vampiric Asa. Although Black Sunday is a famous and influential movie it's still pretty mediocre, but is bolstered by the appearance of Steele with her distinctive, expressive and sensual face [but, who, sadly, is dubbed throughout] and by Bava's excellent cinematography. Like most of Bava's movies, Black Sunday is rich in atmosphere and has excellent settings, especially the castle where most of the action takes place, but it lacks tension and impact. Bava also directed The Whip and the Body/What three years later, but his best film is arguably Blood and Black Lace. 

Verdict: Everything Barbara Steele is in is interesting. **1/2.

THE WHIP AND THE BODY [AKA WHAT]

THE WHIP AND THE BODY [aka What/La frusta e il corpo1963]. Director: Mario Bava [attributed to "John M. Old"].

The Menliff family is disturbed by the reappearance of errant son Kurt (Christopher Lee), who went away after his dalliance with a maid led her to take her own life. Her mother (Harriet Medin), another domestic, keeps the bloody knife her daughter used to kill herself under glass as a morbid memento, and it is used when people in the Menliff castle start getting murdered. Is someone human behind the slayings, or is it a ghost from beyond the grave? The title is apparently explained by more than one sequence in which Kurt whips his sister-in-law Nevenka (Daliah Lavi), who was once affianced to him but then married his brother Christian (Tony Kendall), and who seems to enjoy the sadomasochistic foreplay. Like most of Mario Bava's movies this one has atmosphere, good photography and settings, and is drenched in the usual bizarre and colorful lighting schemes, but it's also a bore, with lots of walking around and brooding that amounts to very little; there's nothing remotely scary about it. However, the film has one of the best dubbing jobs of an Italian import, and the voices are well chosen, especially the actor who dared to dub Christopher Lee.

Verdict: Another bad Mario Bava movie. Watch his superior Blood and Black Lace instead. **. 

BLACK SABBATH

BLACK SABBATH (aka I tre volti della paura/1963). Director: Mario Bava.

A trio of horror stories from the director of Blood and Black Lace. In "The Telephone" a young lady is bedeviled by an old boyfriend who escaped from jail, or is it really a woman friend [or lover] who is causing the turmoil behind the scenes? This segment is interesting but half-baked, bordering on stupid. In the best and second segment, "The Wurdalak," starring Boris Karloff and Mark Damon, a family must wonder if their returning patriarch has become a vampire. The best scene has a dead little boy crying out pathetically for his grieving mother. In the final sequence, "The Drop of Water," a woman steals a ring from a hideous corpse that haunts her. Like most of Bava's films, the art direction is excellent, but sometimes the garish color works against the film's atmosphere. Frankly, the first and third sections should have been dropped and the middle segment expanded into a full-length feature.

Verdict: One out of three ain't bad. **1/2.

BLOOD AND BLACK LACE

BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964). Director: Mario Bava. [NOTE: End credit says that the English version was produced, written and directed by Lou Moss. The Italian title is Sei donne per l'assassino.]

An especially brutal murderer is slaying the beautiful models of the Christiane Fashion House in Rome. The establishment is owned by Contessa Como (Eva Bartok), a widow who is keeping company with one Max Morlan (Cameron Mitchell). Inspector Silvester (Thomas Reiner) locks up all the male suspects but the murders continue. This entertaining, well-made and suspenseful film was highly influential on the many Italian horror thrillers by Dario Argento and others that came afterward (while it itself was influenced by Hitchcock's Psycho, especially in regard to a intense focus on and depiction of murder.) There are illogical moments -- why does one frightened woman drag a corpse into her house and even leave the door wide open? -- and a disregard for forensics, but the movie works on a visceral level and is generally well-acted. Bartok and Mary Arden as model/victim Peggy come off best. Thomas Reiner is the Great Stone Face as the cop assigned to the case. Not badly dubbed (Paul Frees did some of the dubbing, apparently for more than one character.) Credit may have been given to someone else for supposedly directing this "English" version, but any way you slice it the film is pure Bava. Carlo Rustichelli's score is a plus, both the eerie incidental music and the lazy, sensual jazz theme that opens the movie and plays on occasion throughout. Some of the atmospherically-lit sequences were considered quite sadistic in their day and still pack a punch. Bava also directed Twitch of the Death Nerve [AKA Bay of Blood].

Verdict: A creepy treat for those who love multiple murders in movies. ***.