THE BLACK SLEEP

THE BLACK SLEEP (1956). Director: Reginald LeBorg.

A mad doctor (Basil Rathbone) tries to cure a brain disorder in his unconscious wife by experimenting on unwilling victims who are put under his control via a drug known as the “black sleep.” He even goes so far as to frame another doctor for murder so the latter can assist him in his efforts. Eventually Rathbone's pitiful victims break out of confinement and gain their revenge. Bel-Air productions gathered together a terrific cast of solid veterans – in addition to Rathbone there's Tor Johnson and John Carradine as two of the “patients” and Bela Lugosi in a bit role as a mute servant while Akim Tamiroff nearly steals the picture as a ghoulish, amusing gypsy who brings “patients” to Rathbone – but the low-budget company couldn't provide the production gloss and comparative classiness of the old Universal horror films. The movie isn't terrible, just a bit drab and slow. Rathbone is superb and he and the other actors are all pretty much wasted, providing the film's only real interest. Too bad.

Verdict: Tune in if you must but don't expect much. Great cast, though. **.

SHOOT OUT

SHOOT OUT: Surviving Fame and (Mis)Fortune in Hollywood. Peter Bart and Peter Guber. Putnam's; 2002.

Just what we need. Another book on how Hollywood works – or doesn't – from one producer and one former producer who wish to impress upon us their own self-importance while mentioning all the “brilliant” hit movies they made. To be fair, for much of its length the book is a good read, more or less intelligently dissecting the way Hollywood operates today [nobody seems to know anything, for one thing] with some good anecdotes along the way. But there's little here that even a Hollywood outsider doesn't already know or at least suspect. Who doesn't know that mega-corporations have taken over the studios, and that any film that is over the heads of the target teenage audience is having a tougher time getting made? Who doesn't know that most Hollywood types don't like to read, and rarely do? Still, there are some insights into the whole process, especially in the marketing and promotion of films [the ads for What Lies Beneath, a well-made suspense thriller with Harrison Ford and Michell Pfieffer, did not feature the stars because they were considered too old to attract the teen audience!] And there are quick mini-descriptions of certain Hollywood assholes, such as the studio executive who would listen to pitches from writers while letting a distracting toy woodpecker peck out how much time they had left before they were through. There are some stupid moments, such as when Bart, writing about Darling Lili, mentions that “it already was getting out that [star Rock] Hudson was not exactly captivated by women in general, or by Andrews in particular” which seems to trade on the old stereotype of gay men hating women. And unintentional hilarity when the authors write that David O Selznick “didn't have to beg talk shows to book his stars.” Talk shows? – back in the days of Gone with the Wind! On the other hand, the authors rightly assess why The Great Gatsby has never worked as an adaptation in any medium: “there's really no story there, and Gatsby is more a metaphor than a character.” Both Bart and Guber come off as men who are not necessarily stupid, but rather pedestrian.

Verdict: An interesting but non-essential read. **1/2.

THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES (1961). Director: Sergio Leone.

Athenian Darios (Rory Calhoun) comes to the island of Rhodes in 280 B.C. to visit his uncle and becomes embroiled in intrigue, betrayal, bloodshed and worse as various factions strive to take control of Rhodes. Towering over everything is the huge statue that stands astride the harbor and from which molten ore can pour onto those below. It's hard to keep track of who's plotting against who, which are slaves and which are Phoenician armies disguised as slaves, the rebels from the loyalists, but in the end it doesn't quite matter. Beautiful natural scenery combined with often stunning art direction -- not to mention the striking colossus (the bottom of the legs as well as everything from the chest up seem to have been built full-sized) -- give the film a certain visual sheen, but on the dramatic front the picture is not so solid. There are some very creative scenes of torture, a fairly exciting sequence set in the arena, but the long-awaited climax -- the movie runs over two hours -- is not nearly spectacular enough.

Verdict: Not awful by any means but not good enough to go out of your way for. **1/2.

THE MIRACLE RIDER

THE MIRACLE RIDER (1935). 15 chapter Mascot serial. Directed by Armand Schaefer and B. Reeves Eason.

In this “modern-day” Western serial, the comparatively bland Tom Mix is cast as Texas Ranger Tom Morgan, who comes up against Zarnoff (Charles Middleton), who wants to scare the Indians off a reservation because it holds a mine with an explosive ore. Zarnoff uses a airship to try and convince the Indians that a deadly “Firebird” is on the loose. The ore is used to make formula X49, which is employed to create a fire-causing beam of destruction. Not even the great Middleton can save this dull serial that is poorly edited and lacks suspense. The only good thing about it is the snappy theme music that opens each episode. Joan Gale plays Ruth; Bob Fraser is Black Wing, and Jason Robards is Carlson.

Verdict: Below the level of most other Mascot serials. *1/2.

THREE STRANGERS

THREE STRANGERS (1946). Director: Jean Negulesco. Written by John Huston and Howard Koch.


Tied in with an old Chinese legend, three strangers share a sweepstakes ticket and an uncertain destiny. Crystal Shackleford (Geraldine Fitzgerald) is determined to get her husband, David (Alan Napier), back from the new woman in his life and will tell any nasty lie to do so. Jerome Arbutny (Sydney Greenstreet) is facing complete and total ruination if it gets out that he played fast and loose with a client's money -- he even goes so far as to ask the old biddy for her hand in marriage. Johnny West (Peter Lorre) is a foolish drunk who is arrested for a murder he didn't commit and was only nominally involved in. Will the goddess Kwan Yin favor them with good fortune, or will their own natures get the better of them? Unusual, cleverly scripted story features some fine performances from the stars and supporting cast, with Peter Lorre playing a more sympathetic -- and romantic -- part than usual. Decidedly offbeat and certainly unpredictable.

Verdict: Something different. ***.

THE X FROM OUTER SPACE

THE X FROM OUTER SPACE (1967). Director: Kazui Nihonmatsu.

An expedition to Mars brings back an alien material that burns its way out of the lab and grows into a colossal stupid-looking monster with a beak, two wobbly antennae, and big red pop-out eyes. The creature, which is 200 feet tall and weights 150,000 tons, is called Guilala and could only come from La La Land -- except this time it's actually from, as usual, Japan. In other words this is yet another mostly crappy Japanese monster movie with a man in a suit walking through cardboard buildings. The plot is perfectly acceptable, but the movie features the silliest-looking monster since The Giant Claw (still a much better picture). Some of the model and miniature work is quite good. There is one rather exciting sequence when the monster chases after two men in a jeep, its huge feet nearly coming down on them at any second. If the whole movie had been that well done it might have amounted to something. The musical score is snappy but inappropriate to say the least.

Verdict: Even monster fans can miss it. *1/2.

THE MONSTER MAKER

THE MONSTER MAKER (1944). PRC. Directed by Sam Newfield.

Odd but reasonably attention-holding thriller in which J. Carroll Naish plays Markov, a scientist whose experiments with acromegaly have macabre and chilling results. On the run with the pretty assistant Maxine (Tala Birell) who loves him unconditionally, he spots a beautiful woman (Wanda McKay) who greatly resembles his late daughter. In an event that borders a bit grossly on the incestuous [an aspect that the script doesn't really delve into and which the production code would probably never have allowed it to], Naish falls in love with the woman and wants to marry her. Her father, a famous pianist (Ralph Morgan), strenuously objects and Naish deliberately infects the man with fast-acting acromegaly, making him hideously deformed and almost insane, and of course, putting an end to his brilliant musical career. The make up is very good but the stock musical score adds nothing to the picture. Naish is as good as ever – it might be said the unpleasant movie wastes his talents – and Birell also plays the lovelorn, devoted, but jealous gal-pal to the hilt. Glenn Strange appears in the small role of a giant. This strangely disturbing little movie is no classic but it has its moments.

Verdict: Small-scale but interesting. **1/2.

SUMMER WISHES, WINTER DREAMS

SUMMER WISHES, WINTER DREAMS (1973). Director: Gilbert Cates.

Joanne Woodward is superb as Rita Walden, a middle-aged woman suffering a mid-life crisis. Her mother (Sylvia Sidney) dies of a heart attack while attending the cinema with her daughter, and the family is squabbling over what to do with her farm. Her son doesn't want anything to do with her since her negative reaction to discovering he was gay. She feels emotions for her loved ones deeply but has difficulty showing them. Martin Balsam is also excellent as her husband, who has an affecting scene describing how he killed some boys during the war while at the very same spot where it happened in Europe. Stewart Stern's screenplay may be low-key but it has a quiet power and some very moving moments. His dialogue is also splendid, such as when Woodward yells at her daughter "I may love you but I don't like you at all!" and when Balsam tells his wife that "you know you have your whole life ahead of you." To which Rita replies "It'll go by like a weekend." The film was somewhat ahead of its time in that Rita's husband suggests that their gay son Bob "was gay the day he was born." Imperfect perhaps, but full of good performances and well-directed by Cates.

Verdict: Absorbing, intelligent, sensitively-played drama for adults. ***1/2.

ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU

ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU (1957). Director Edward L. Cahn.

This cheapie creepy has a interesting premise. An old woman (Marjorie Eaton) lives in an isolated area of Africa where she has been told her husband has been seen walking about as one of the "living dead." He was only one of many over the years who tried to acquire an underwater treasure – diamonds – that is guarded by a whole slew of zombies. The woman not only hopes to find the man, but also to help his restless spirit move on by destroying the diamonds. Other characters include the old lady’s granddaughter (Autumn Russell), who has come for a visit, and an expedition of several people who hope to find the treasure. These individuals include Morris Ankrum and Alllison Hayes of Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman fame. Although in Woman Hayes displayed a fair amount of acting ability that made you wonder what else she could do, in Zombies her distinctly limited performance makes you understand why she wound up in movies like Woman – and Zombies. Still, she’s reasonably vivid as the trampy wife of the expedition’s leader (George Harrison), who she’s married to, but who doesn’t mind if she gives associate Gregg Palmer a passionate kiss right in front of him. Palmer is suitably beefy as the nominal hero. "You old hag!" Hayes shouts at Eaton, "You’re dead already and you don’t have sense enough to know it!" The production values are on a cheap TV show level, and one wishes that there had been some attempt to make the zombies a bit more horrific-looking, but they manage to provide enough suspenseful menace in the final scenes.

Verdict: Worth a look if you’re not expecting too much. **.

IN THE NICK OF TIME

IN THE NICK OF TIME: Motion Picture Sound Serials. William C. Cline. McFarland; 1984.

This is a labor of love written by someone who lived through the period of the great serials and shares his love and enthusiasm for them on every page. He also goes behind the scenes to look into the lives and work of everyone from the leading men and ladies to the composers, stunt men, supporting players, and master villains, with a section devoted to those players who “graduated” from the serials – John Wayne, for instance – to become super-stars. Although the book drags in spots, it is generally engaging and entertaining, and the filmography of all sound serials in the back of the book is alone worth the price of admission. Some great black and white photos. One quibble – Cline sometimes gives away the identity of the secret mastermind in certain serials – Boo! Hiss! [Of course the book was published before the great DVD revolution when so many serials are now available.] Otherwise this is a worthwhile book for cliffhanger fans indeed.

Verdict: Great fun! ***

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947). Director: Edmund Goulding

Tyrone Power gives one of his best performances as Stanton Carlisle, a young man who works for a carnival and inadvertently contributes to the death of an alcoholic co-worker, Pete (Ian Keith). Stan winds up performing a mind-reading act with his wife Molly (Coleen Gray), giving him gullible high society contacts and getting him into business with shady psychiatrist Lilith Ritter (Helen Walker, pictured with Power). This is an absolutely fascinating movie with interesting twists and turns and a powerful, if not entirely unexpected, wind-up (which is somewhat reminiscent of The Crowd). The supporting cast is splendid, with Joan Blondell excellent as Zeena, Pete's partner, and Helen Walker offers a diabolical portrait as the utterly amoral Lilith. There's a terrific scene when Power uses his skill to both charm and undermine an angry Marshall (a splendid James Burke) who's out to shut the carnival down. Well-directed by Edmund Goulding.

Verdict: A crackling good yarn. ***1/2.

THE MEPHISTO WALTZ

THE MEPHISTO WALTZ (1971). Director: Paul Wendkos.

Based on a novel by Fred Mustard Stewart, this was one of a slew of big-studio supernatural films that were released in the wake of Rosemary's Baby. Miles, a journalist (Alan Alda) is given a chance to interview the reclusive pianist genius Duncan Ely (Curt Jurgens), who remarks upon Alda's hands as being “the hands of a great pianist.” After Ely's death, Alda, who inherits most of the man's fortune, himself becomes a great pianist while Alda's wife, Jacqueline Bisset, develops the perhaps not-so-paranoid delusion that Ely, a Satan worshiper, is inhabiting her husband's body. But what is she going to do about it? The idea is terrific, but the execution is mediocre and much of the acting insufficient; the film hasn't a single outstanding sequence and isn't memorable. Alda from Mash isn't bad as the journalist Miles, and Jurgens is at once authentically sinister and charming. Bradford Dillman, Kathleen Widdoes, and Pamelyn Ferdin also appear, the last as the young couple's likable doomed daughter. Barbara Parkins plays Jurgens' daughter/lover. Jerry Goldsmith's score is a bit too loud and jangling, although it makes good use of Lizst's fascinating piece "The Mephisto Waltz."

Verdict: Not so hot. **.

THE LOST JUNGLE

THE LOST JUNGLE (1934). Mascot Serial Feature version [approx. 71 minutes]. Directed by Armand Schaefer and David Howard.

This is the feature-length version of the serial starring the real Clyde Beatty playing himself. While not any kind of Tyrone Power or Laurence Olivier, Beatty was an attractive fellow with an ingratiating manner, and he plays in this stuff about as well as many another serial hero. Clyde's girlfriend Ruth (Cecilia Parker) is hoping he'll propose before she has to go off with her father, Captain Robertson Edward LeSaint), on a voyage to the south seas. “He's different from other men,” she tells her father because she fears Clyde is more comfortable with animals than he is with women. When Ruth and the others wind up shipwrecked on a jungle island, Clyde goes to the rescue on a dirigible that falls apart in mid-ocean. Eventually he also winds up on the “lost island” of Kamor, which also has a lost underground city as well as a treasure. Sharky (Warner Richmond), a jealous associate of Clyde's, consistently causes trouble for everyone, as does a man-eating tiger they call Sammy [how anyone can have affection for a beast that slaughtered several crew members is never explored]. Clyde brings along his publicity man Larry (Syd Saylor) for comedy relief, and comes across a vital little Mickey Rooney in an early sequence. Although one can tell that this feature version leaves out a lot of plot details and possibly some exciting scenes, there's little in this that will make most viewers want to seek out a full-length version of the serial, although one is available on DVD.

Verdict: It doesn't look like one of Mascot's better entries. **.

I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE

I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE (1951) Director: Michael Gordon.

Susan Hayward is a mannequin who decides to enlist two co-workers in a risky scheme to start their own fashion house, make a fortune, and achieve independence. Not exactly a bad idea, but this dated picture decides to basically portray Hayward as a kind of villainess, as if any woman who is ambitious like a man has to be inherently wrong and crazy. Hayward's partners are tailor Sam Jaffe, who loves her like a daughter, and salesman Dan Dailey, who loves her romantically. SPOILER ALERT: The two decide it would be better to let their new firm go bankrupt and lose their investment (and Jaffe is an old man with a family) rather than let the woman they both love enter into a business arrangement with slimy George Sanders that would make all of them millionaires. It is understood that the two men don't want Hayward to “lie down with the devil” so to speak, but throughout the picture it is made clear that Hayward is a gal who can handle herself -- while overly unsentimental at times, she seems to be the only person with common sense -- so their concern is patronizing at best and moronic at worst. That being said, I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a very entertaining picture with a typically fine performance from Hayward and solid support from Dailey, Sanders, and especially, Sam Jaffe.

Verdict: Fun if you don't take it seriously. **1/2.

GREAT OLD TV: I MARRIED JOAN

I MARRIED JOAN. A collection of episodes from this classic fifties sitcom (1952 - 1955) starring Joan Davis has been put together on a two-part four-DVD set. I loved this show when I was a kid, but I wasn't certain how it would hold up after so many years. I must admit that at first it seemed pretty silly, with Davis a deft comedienne on her own terms but not quite a genius on the level of I Love Lucy's Lucille Ball. The scripts seemed even more childish than Lucy's could be on occasion. Then I saw some of the more memorable episodes of I Married Joan and the full magic of the show -- and of Davis -- came through, and I suddenly remembered after all these years why I had enjoyed it so much when I first saw the reruns years ago.

COLLECTION ONE: In “Joan's Haircut” Joan gets one of the hot new “panda” haircuts for her class reunion but then feels like putting a bag over her head when she can't get used to it. In “New House” she and hubby Jim Backus ["Thurston Howell" from Gilligan's Island] put down a down payment on a hew home only to learn that another couple has done the same thing – and both couples are equally determined to move in! Joan and Brad have an argument while showing movies from their trip to Hawaii in “Home Movies.” “Honeymoon” features a flashback to Joan's disastrous honeymoon where her new husband spent most of the trip trapped in a closet. “Alienation” is a slightly risque episode in which Brad believes that Joan has been entertaining a variety of lovers.

COLLECTION TWO: Lee Patrick guest-stars as a tough hospital clerk when Brad gets a couple of “Broken Toes.” To impress a snotty “friend” [played by Adele Jergens] Joan buys a hugely expensive dress she can't afford in “Clothes Budget.” [Fritz Feld marvelously plays the dress shop owner and there are also appearances by Bernard Gorcey and “Clara” from the I Love Lucy “operetta” and other episodes.] At a hat shop Joan gets into a cat fight with a touchy lady that she doesn't realize she'll be having dinner with later in “Acrobats.” Joan finds out that she's apparently allergic to her own husband in “Allergy.” A smooth lecturer with wonderful manners creates “Jealousy” in Brad and other husbands.

I Married Joan could be much racier than I Love Lucy. Joan's daughter Beverly Willis played her sister Beverly in several episodes. Joan's wise Aunt Vera was played in other episodes by the “speed it up!” lady from the chocolate factory episode of I Love Lucy ["Job Switching"]. Two episodes that are not included in this collection but I wish had been: Joan innocently drops a piranha in with Brad's collection of tropical fish. And tries to stuff or do something to a chicken while taking some kind of course in school. Now those I'd really love to see again!

Verdict: Lots of fun! ***.

INCLUDE ME OUT

INCLUDE ME OUT: My Life from Goldwyn to Broadway. Farley Granger with Robert Calhoun. St. Martin’s Press; 2007.

Farley Granger will always be remembered as the star of Hitchcock’s films Strangers on a Train and Rope (he thinks the latter is minor Hitchcock). He traces his life and career from his early years working for Sam Goldwyn to his work with Hitchcock, his adventures in the New York theater world, his foray into Italian film-making with Luchino Visconti (Senso), and his re-emergence as a Broadway and soap opera actor in his later years. Although he doesn’t use the term himself, Granger is apparently fashionably bisexual in that he has had affairs with both men and women; reading between the lines he seems more interested in men. Granger claims he ended his relationship with playwright Arthur Laurents after he fell in love with Shelley Winters, but a few pages later intimates that he left Laurents after he came home to find him fooling around with another man. Which is it? One gets the sense that Granger wants to hold on to some sort of heterosexual pedigree in somewhat dated fashion. Whatever, he gets credit for not excluding his homoerotic relationships with the likes of Leonard Bernstein and others. In some ways this is a typical Hollywood story of an actor who achieves fame, loses it, and copes as best he can while constantly striving to be the best actor he can be. A bizarre note has Granger going for acting lessons after making his best-known film Strangers on a Train. Not essential reading necessarily, but it certainly is fast-paced and entertaining, with some juicy insider details both filmic and sexual, albeit a bit on the superficial side. As a Man Who Loves Men, one might have expected Granger to discuss, say, the possibly homophobic aspects of Rope, but he glosses over it completely.

Verdict: Enjoyable minor Hollywood memoir with 21st century twists. **½.

I BURY THE LIVING

I BURY THE LIVING (1958). Director: Albert Band.

You may not hold out much hope for this low-budget Twilight Zone-like horror film, but stick with it and you may be surprised. Richard Boone stars as the new manager of a cemetery who accidentally sticks black pins ( meaning they’re dead) instead of white pins (alive) into a map of cemetery plots that also lists the names of the owners. The newlywed couple whose pins are black are killed shortly afterward, and Boone is pretty freaked. He deliberately puts in another black pin just to convince himself it’s all a fluke – and this man dies too. Several other people insist that he put in more black pins, trying to convince him to stop being silly and superstitious, and these people also die – supposedly of natural causes. You would think this idea wouldn’t work on anything other than a 22 minute TV show, but the movie manages to hold the attention for almost four times that length and becomes extremely disquieting to boot. Band’s direction is also inventive and admirable. Boone and the other cast members are fine, but a nearly unrecognizable Theodore Bikel (with a fine Scottish accent no less) steals the picture as retiring cemetery employee Andy. Okay, the contrived plot doesn’t really stand up to a lot of scrutiny, to say the least, and the movie has at least three different endings, but it has to be given points for being decidedly different.

Verdict: Definitely worth a look. ***.

JUNIOR G-MEN

JUNIOR G-MEN (1940). 12 chapter Universal serial. Directed by Ford Beebe and John Rawlins.

In this serial a few members of the Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys basically play variations of their usual personas. Billy Barton's (Billy Halop) father, a colonel and an “inventive genius,” has come up with a formula that is coveted by enemy agents. With this formula, vibrations from explosions can set off other explosions within a range of 100 miles! Colonel Barton is kidnapped, and the enemy agents keep trying to kidnap Billy so that they can threaten him with harm to make his father comply. Billy and his buddies, including “Gyp” (Huntz Hall) and Terry (Gabriel Dell), not only get involved with real FBI men [headed by Jim Bradford, played by Joan Crawford's ex Phillip Terry], but also commingle with Junior G-Men led by Bradford's nephew Terry (Kenneth Howell). The enemy group is called the Flaming Torch and Billy and Gyp refer to the members of the outfit as “torchies.” The lead torchie is the same chubby guy who played head villain Monroe in The Green Hornet, Cy Kendall. The serial takes a while to get going but before long there are exciting cliffhangers involving a collapsing fire escape and a descending elevator cage. The theme music is good and there is absolutely no sign of Leo Gorcey.

Verdict: Not top-notch by any means but slightly better than the typical Universal entry. **1/2.

BRIGHAM YOUNG

BRIGHAM YOUNG (1940). Director: Henry Hathaway.

This story of the Mormons dealing with persecution and traveling to find a new home is surprisingly entertaining and exceedingly well-made with some striking photography and adroit editing. An initially unrecognizable Dean Jagger is quite good as the self-appointed Mormon leader, and he gets some fine support from the likes of Vincent Price (as Joseph Smith, who understandably wants the Mormons to arm themselves), John Carradine, Brian Donlevy, and Mary Astor as one of Young's wives. Tyrone Power gives one of his more memorable performances as Jonathan, a young Mormon, and Linda Darnell is effectively sweet as the non-Mormon he falls in love with. As always, Jane Darwell scores as Power's mother. The film milks a lot of drama out of the persecution and troubles of the Mormons. The raids on Mormon farms which open the film with assorted shootings and whippings is chilling, and a large amount of suspense is generated by the scene in which the Mormons rush to traverse a frozen river before their tormentors can catch up to them. Joseph Smith's brutal death at the hands of a mob whose bullets force his body out of a second story window is memorable. By the time the Mormons must try and beat off a horde of hungry crickets eating their grain, you may think the picture will do just about anything to drum up some drama, but even this sequence is exciting, as is the timely intervention of a huge flock of seagulls to eat the crickets. The movie has to be taken with a grain of salt, but to its credit it doesn't cram religion down your throat and it isn't an advertisement for the Mormon faith. Although the polygamous aspects of Mormonism are played down, there are some generally amusing references to it, and we see Young with more than one wife on at least one occasion. NOTE: the film is titled Brigham Young, Frontiersman on video.

Verdict: Quite entertaining. ***.

GREY GARDENS

GREY GARDENS (1975). Directed by Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer.

A look at the lives of elderly Edith Bouvier Beale and her 56-year-old daughter (pictured) "Little Edie," the aunt and cousin of former first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, who live alone together in a ramshackle, mostly empty mansion in the Hamptons. This fascinating documentary starts slow, but builds in interest as it presents a warts-and-all portrait of these two women who clearly love each other but are also highly resentful of one another. That is the movie's strength, the way it illustrates the way people re-write their own histories and blame each other for their own failings. Mother Edith suggests that her husband never came back to her because her daughter would have moved out and never returned if he did, but it's more likely that the man had no intention of leaving his second wife and coming back to Edith. For her part, middle-aged Edie is furious because she feels she gave up her show business ambitions to return home and take care of her mother; in truth, she was probably just another show biz causality who had nowhere else to go. Although the film tries its level best to make the two seem as grotesque as possible, the main problem is that they just don't have the fortune of the Kennedys (albeit Edie seems slightly pixillated at times). Both mother and daughter emerge as likable people, and mother Edith is no dummy. Whether you see the women as freaks or human beings probably depends on your age and your level of empathy. A major flaw with the film is that we don't see or learn nearly enough about the women's early lives, especially Edith's career as a talented singer, which would have provided more balance.

Verdict: Unusual and absorbing. ***

BLOOD OF DRACULA

BLOOD OF DRACULA (1957). Director: Herbert L. Strock.

Nancy Perkins (Sandra Harrison) is dumped at a girl’s school by her newly-widowed father (Thomas Browne Henry) so he can go off with his sexy new wife. She’s furious to be leaving behind her friends and steady beau, but there are worse things in store for her. One of her teachers, Miss Branding (Louise Lewis), is dismayed because her thesis keeps getting rejected. She’s convinced that it’s because she’s a woman but it’s just as likely that it’s because a.) she works at a small town girl’s school and is not exactly a professor at Harvard, and b.) her thesis states that there will be no need for A bombs once the deadly, explosive powers of human beings have been harvested (Yes) ! To prove this she needs a girl of angry temperament, and therefore hypnotizes Nancy. For inexplicable reasons, she apparently has Nancy murder a couple of her classmates and friends. There is no "Dracula" in the movie, nor even a mention of him (only of vampires in general), but Nancy transforms into a thick-lipped, shaggy-haired, fanged monstrosity who sucks blood in one of the most hilarious "horror" make-ups of all time. (It’s got to be seen to be believed.) The acting and lensing in the low-budget quickie isn’t bad, and neither is the premise, although Miss Branding’s "science" is below comic book level. Screenwriter Aben Kandel has some decent dialogue along with some clunkers but lots of intriguing stuff goes completely unexplored. It’s unlikely that anyone took this seriously, but in its limited way it’s kind of fun. There’s even a musical number, "Puppy Love," with a guy named Tab (Jerry Blaine).

Verdict: Dopey but amusing. **1/2.

EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS

EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. Peter Biskind. Simon and Schuster; 1998.

To the sub-title of this book could have been added the words “and destroyed themselves in the process.” This excellent book studies the lives and works of the major directors who came into their own in the seventies and afterward, when directors and not the studios seemed to become the prime power in Hollywood. The directors – Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, William Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby, Bob Rafelson, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Altman and others – are depicted as being just as egomaniacal and domineering as any movie star – in fact, they come off as a bunch of major assholes. Biskind chronicles how Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider began a youthquake in Hollywood that tried to capture the waning audience by making films that were hip and irreverent, full of sex, drugs and violence, and once in a while achieved quality. It also documents how many of the decade's most famous directors imploded on their own egos and self-destructed on drugs and alcohol. [In one of the book's funniest anecdotes we learn how Dennis Hopper stopped mixing his gallon of rum a day -- he also imbibed several beers and consumed drugs daily -- with coca cola and switched to rum and cranberry juice because he thought it would be healthier for his liver!] Directors such as Friedkin and Bogdanovich became so successful so soon that they believed their own publicity and thought there was no production that was beyond them, no idea they couldn't turn into a money-making Oscar contender [boy, were they wrong!]. Some of the people give very frank interviews to Biskind, and – surprisingly – put the blame squarely where it belongs – on themselves. Just about everybody agrees that most of today's movies – sequels, prequels, remakes, and big-screen adaptations of awful old TV shows -- stink.

Verdict: A riveting read. ***1/2.

SON OF FURY

SON OF FURY (1942) Director: John Cronwell.

Tyrone Power gives a highly effective "star" performance as Benjamin Blake who is born in England during the reign of George III. His evil Uncle Arthur (George Sanders) takes him away from his poor but loving grandfather (Harry Davenport) only to turn him into a servant on the huge estate that by rights should belong to him! Wanted by the authorities for the attempted slaying of Arthur, Benjamin sails to the south seas and swims to an island which a buddy Caleb (John Carradine) has told him is full of a fortune in pearls. There he meets an island beauty he christens Eve (Gene Tierney) while back home his cousin Isabel (Frances Farmer), whom he loves, wonders if he's alive or dead. Back in England the now-rich Benjamin still finds he has to fight duplicity and betrayal to finally claim his birthright. This is a rousing, handsomely produced, entertaining adventure story with fine performances, solid direction from Cromwell, and an evocative, excellent score from Alfred Newman. Elsa Lanchester has a nice bit as a prostitute who hides Ben out while he's on the run. George Sanders is at his oily, sinister best. But Tyrone Power's presence and authority add immeasurably to the picture's dramatic veracity.

Verdict: Great fun! ***.

RETURN OF CHANDU

RETURN OF CHANDU (1934). Director: Ray Taylor. 12 chapter serial.

Edmund Lowe played Chandu the Magician battling Bela Lugosi in the 1932 feature film Chandu the Magician. In this serial, Chandu was played not by Lowe, but by Lugosi! Chandu has hypnotic powers similar to The Shadow, and becomes embroiled in a sinister plot surrounding a beautiful princess. This woman, Chandu's girlfriend, is the reincarnation of the Cat God of Magic Island. There are ocean voyages, fogbound islands, human sacrifices, underground traps and the like – but as fascinating as it sounds it's all very slow, dull and disappointing. Lugosi is fine, if a little miscast, and spends much of his time knitting his brows and calling on the power of the Yogi who was his teacher. Some of the sets were left over from King Kong. This is by no means one of the more memorable chapterplays.

Verdict: Not worth the eye strain. *1/2.

JOURNAL OF A CRIME

JOURNAL OF A CRIME (1934). Director: William Keighley. From a play by Jacques Deval.

Ruth Chatterton learns that her producer husband (Adolphe Menjou) has fallen in love with a pretty and callow young actress. She takes his gun, goes to the theater, and shoots her, just as a bank robber who shot a teller tries to use the theater as a hide-out. Naturally, the robber is blamed for the mistress's murder, but Menjou finds his gun backstage and figures out the truth. [“Fiend! Fiend!” he keeps saying to his wife once they're home.] Menjou decides not to give his wife up to the police, hoping she'll crack and do the right thing as their relationship crumbles. This is very potent material, but the movie pretty much sticks to the surface and never explores with any depth the shattering emotions going on underneath. The dead girl is virtually forgotten and the teller we see shot early in the movie is hardly mentioned; there's little attempt to examine all the moral issues. One of the most interesting scenes has Chatterton going to see the bank robber convicted of her rival's murder on the eve of his execution, but otherwise the story goes in all the wrong directions, and the film's potential is wasted. Although Chatterton gets stronger as the picture proceeds, another problem with the movie is that both she and Menjou give comparatively perfunctory performances.

Verdict: Missed opportunities. **.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER

BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945/British). Director: David Lean. Written by Noel Coward from his play Still Life.

Superb drama is one of the finest romantic films ever made. A married woman (Celia Johnson) meets a married man (Trevor Howard) at a train station, and the two soon realize they've found the soul mates that they haven't found in their spouses, whom they nevertheless love. Will they find a way to find happiness with each other or face a certain bleak reality? A sort of secondary love story is played out between the station agent (Stanley Holloway) and the lady who runs the tea shop (Joyce Carey) where the other two lovers first meet. Beautifully directed, acted and photographed, with appropriate background music from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto # 2, this is no mere soap opera but but a finely realized and uncompromising adult drama. The supporting cast is excellent right down to the smallest roles.

Verdict: A poignant, not-to-be-missed masterpiece! ****.

FIGHTING MARINES

FIGHTING MARINES (1935). 12 chapter Mascot serial. Directed by B. Reeves Eason and Joseph Kane.

Grant Withers and Adrian Morris star as a Marine corporal and sergeant who come up against a saboteur named the Tiger Shark who works out of Halfway Island. Ann Rutherford, who is nearly unrecognizable from her gig as “Polly Benedict” in the Andy Hardy series, plays the love interest, although there ain't much romance in this serial. The Tiger Shark is after a gyro-compass [“designed to aid blind flying”] invented by Rutherford's brother. The Tiger Shark wears goggles and a black leather aviator's outfit and flies an auto-gyro – he's certainly more striking and heroic in appearance than either of the potato-headed heroes. The opening sequence with the Marines fighting pirates on Halfway Island is busy but dull, and the rest of the serial, alas, isn't much better. Aside from a well-done sequence involving a closing, crushing wall, the cliffhangers are pretty lame and there are far too many flashbacks. This is a mostly by-the-numbers serial that fails to sustain suspense even though the identity of the villain is withheld until the very end. Mascot did some pretty good serials with John Wayne as star, but Fighting Marines is a major disappointment.

Verdict: Several hours of your life that you can't get back! *1/2.

BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER

BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER (1953). Director: Andrew L. Stone.

Joseph Cotten plays a man who comes back into the life of his late brother's wife and daughter after the latter becomes sick and dies in the hospital. Egged on by the wife of a friend, he comes to suspect that his sister-in-law (Jean Peters/pictured) killed not only the girl [her step-daughter] but his brother as well – for money. Will she also murder his trusting little nephew, the only person who stands between her and millions of dollars? When it turns out that there isn't enough evidence for a trial, Cotten determines to murder the woman on an ocean voyage before she can dispose of the boy. But can he bring himself to do it? And is he right in his suspicions? Oh, what a picture Alfred Hitchcock could have made of this fascinating, suspenseful story, although Blueprint for Murder certainly holds the attention in any case. The audience doesn't learn the woman's guilt or innocence until the very end of the movie. Filmed on a very low budget, the film generally has the appearance of a TV show when it comes to production values, but it's very absorbing and well-acted all the same.

Verdict: Worth a look. ** 1/2.