THE HOUSE ON SKULL MOUNTAIN

THE HOUSE ON SKULL MOUNTAIN (1974). Director: Ron Honthaner.

After the elderly matriarch of an African-American family dies, her relatives are called together in the mansion for the reading of the will, but deaths and accidents occur because someone who wants them dead is using voodoo curses against them. Playing slick Phlippe, Mike Evans seems to be channeling Stepin Fetchit, but the other actors (Jean Durand, Janee Michelle, among others) are more dignified. Victor French plays Dr. Cunningham, the deceased matriarch's mostly Caucasian grandson. The film has virtually no atmosphere, a poor story, and not enough chills, action, or even gore to recommend it. The only notable aspect is the attractive matte painting depicting the house on top of its Skull Mountain, which reminds one of the similarly named mountain of King Kong.

Verdict: Sorely to be missed. *.

AFRICA SCREAMS

AFRICA SCREAMS (1949). Director: Charles Barton.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello wind up in a studio-bound "Africa" along with the real Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck, two of the famous three stooges, and the curvaceous Hillary Brooke, who is hoping that Lou can lead her to a treasure in diamonds. Unfortunately, the map that Lou has supposedly memorized from a book is actually a map that shows how to get from his house to the department store where he works. Silly comedy has some really ancient gags in it, but it's also fast-moving and fun, with some genuinely amusing sequences. One of the best has Lou locked in a cage with a lion that he thinks is Abbott in a costume. A King Kong-sized gorilla shows up at the end in another funny sequence. The boys are in good form in this one. Joe Besser. who plays the petulant Harry, was "Stinky" on their TV show and briefly joined The Three Stooges. Shemp Howard (Gunner) was also a member of the stooges.

Verdict: Fun if you're in a silly mood. **1/2.

DODSWORTH

DODSWORTH (1936). Director: William Wyler.

"Love has to stop somewhere short of suicide."

Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) has retired and his younger wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton) wants to spend her remaining days with him on the continent, where she wants to forget she has grown children and live a gay social whirl. Dodsworth is a simpler, less exciting soul and only wants to return to Zenith, the small town they come from. "You're rushing at old age," Fran tells him "and I'm not ready for that yet!" Before long Fran is being courted by and falling for younger men while Sam meets a sympathetic woman named Edith (Mary Astor). The interesting thing about the movie is that you find yourself switching allegiances mid-stream, at first rooting for the lively, fun-loving (if pretentious and snooty) Fran to shake the starch out of Sam, but then recognizing that Fran's life-loving vivacity has its dark and selfish side. Huston and Astor are fine, but Chatterton nearly steals the picture as Fran, and there are also excellent performances from Maria Ouspenskaya (as the mother of one of Fran's suitors), David Niven, Paul Lukas, and Gregory Gaye. "Have you considered how little happiness there can be for the old wife of a young husband?" Ouspenskaya asks a horrified Chatterton. John Payne also has a small role. Screenplay by Sidney Howard from the novel by Sinclair Lewis.

Verdict: A bit contrived at times but otherwise excellent. ***1/2.

THEATRE OF DEATH

THEATRE OF DEATH (1967/British). Director: Samuel Gallu.

Interesting, unpredictable tale about the owner and director of a Grand Guignol "Theatre of Death" in Paris named Philippe Darvas (Christopher Lee), who takes a young actress named Nicole (Jenny Till) under his wing to the consternation of her concerned friend and co-actor Dani (Lelia Goldoni). Meanwhile, there are a series of gruesome murders in which the victims are drained of blood. Dani's boyfriend, a former police surgeon named Charles Marquis (Julian Glover), gets involved with both the murders and the odd goings-on at the Theatre of Death. The plot is interesting but Gallu's direction is mediocre. Christopher Lee offers one of his haughtiest portrayals as the eminently artistic and remarkably overbearing Darvas, who really betrays his cruel streak during a riveting argument with the appalled Dani. The ending is way too drawn-out but the solution is certainly unusual and satisfying.

Verdict: Has its moments. **1/2.

GREAT OLD OPERA -- ROMEO AND JULIET Gounod

NOTE: From time to time, Great Old Movies will run reviews of works in the other performing arts, especially if at some time they've been adapted into films. Romeo and Juliet was made into a movie several times. This is French composer Charles Gounod's operatic version and was shown as part of Great Performances (a live peformance, not a film).

ROMEO AND JULIET. Charles Gounod. Metropolitan Opera. 2008. Shown on PBS April 2008.

This first-rate production of Gounod’s masterpiece at the Metropolitan Opera in New York was shown on PBS as part of Great Performances – which it is. Although for years I was never carried away by tenor Roberto Alagna (pictured), I have to say that with Romeo he has found the role that has finally revealed him as an Artist of the First Rank: his singing and acting are superb. Soprano Anna Netrebko is one of the most attractive Juliet’s to ever grace the opera hall, and sings the role quite well, although there seems to be an occasional tendency to go flat. While not to everyone’s taste, she is undeniably talented. Placido Domingo conducts the Met Orchestra with vigor and sensitivity. Nathan Gunn, (Mercutio), Marc Heller (Tybalt), Luis Otey (Paris) and others also make fine contributions. The production design is romantic in the best sense of the word, although some might feel the floating bed (suspended from wires) upon which Romeo and Juliet sing their rhapsodic duet is a bit much, although it makes an attractive image with its background of stars. Probably Gounod’s most beautiful score. Directed by Gary Halvorson.

Verdict: Beautiful! ***1/2.

HERE'S THE NEW WOLF MAN

BOO!

Benicio Del Toro plays Lawrence Talbot -- the role originally essayed by Lon Chaney (Jr.) in the original The Wolf Man (1941) -- and Anthony Hopkins plays Sir John Talbot in this remake due out in 2009 and directed by Joe Johnston. Special Makeup Effects are by Rick Baker.

Looks like a pretty scary fellow, eh?

DARLING

DARLING (1965). Director: John Schlesinger.

Diana (Julie Christie) is a pretty young model/actress/wannabee who leaves her husband for another man (Dirk Bogarde), dallies with yet another man who can help her career (Laurence Harvey), and then marries an Italian prince and becomes even more famous -- but empty. Back when Darling was released it was meant to explore "modern" mores and amorality and was seen as hip and trendy. Over forty years later it's only dated and boring. Churned out by Hollywood, this might have amounted to a slick soap opera with some timeless "entertainment" value -- say, like A Rage to Live. Cobbled together by Schlesinger -- who's done much, much better films -- it just plods along detailing the uninteresting lives of under-developed characters that are just as vapid as the movie itself. Despite some minor similarities, the movie does not really seem to be based on the life of Grace Kelly, as some have theorized. Even in the sixties, Diana's behavior was hardly atypical of people in show business or elsewhere. The sexually ambiguous characters and incidents are handled rather awkwardly in Frederic Raphael's rather poor screenplay (incredibly, he won an Oscar, as did Christie. The performances are perfectly okay, but everyone has done much better in other films.) Very tiresome stuff. Even in 1965 studies of ambitious, amoral people who had affairs and so on was hardly new, and there were much better ones than Darling.

Verdict: Could help with insomnia. *1/2.

THE CAR

THE CAR (1977). Director: Elliot Silverstein.

An ominous black sedan with an unnerving horn shows up in a sleepy desert community and begins tearing after and running down assorted citizens. Once you swallow the rather absurd supernatural premise and bizarre developments, The Car turns out to be a very nicely done, suspenseful chiller with a genuinely creepy atmosphere and some thrilling sequences. In addition, the screenplay by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack presents three-dimensional characters who have back stories and who you come to care about. The performances are all quite good, with Ronny Cox and John Marley especially effective as two police officers, and R. G. Armstrong scoring as a belligerent wife-beater. James Brolin is fine as the sheriff, Wade Parent, as is Kathleen Lloyd as his girlfriend, Lauren (who features in perhaps the movie's most bravura sequence). Silverstein's direction makes the most of the material and Leonard Rosenman's eerie score embellishes every scene. Gerald Hirschfeld's wide screen photography is also top-notch. The movie was not welcomed by the critics but it's actually a neat little intelligent chiller if admittedly on the far-fetched side.

Verdict: Definitely worth a look. ***.

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932). Directors: Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel.

Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) is the only survivor of a shipwreck near a small island owned by the sinister Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks). Safe on land in the count's gothic castle, he learns that Eve Trowbridge (Fay Wray) and her brother Martin (Robert Armstrong) are also ship-wrecked "guests" waiting patiently for the count's launch to be repaired -- only Eve tells Bob that she's heard the launch going out at night. It turns out that the sociopathic Zaroff deliberately causes shipwrecks and then hunts down "the most dangerous game" -- human beings -- from the survivors. The first half of the film is suspenseful enough, but the second half is non-stop excitement as Bob and Eve try desperately to outwit the count, his men, and his killer dogs and survive until dawn. Thrilling right up until the very last shot. Made concurrently with King Kong (as the FX of that film were being completed) this utilizes some of the same, very recognizable sets. Robert Armstrong gives a more flavorful, less wooden performance than usual and is very good as the ill-fated brother. The shipwreck sequence is very well-done, the effects work is excellent, and the castle settings are atmospheric and intriguing. Although he has been criticized as being "campy," Leslie Banks actually offers a very effective and comparatively low-key portrait of the psychopathic count and never gnoshes on the scenery. His versatility is shown with his much more benign character in The Tunnel. The Most Dangerous Game is highly entertaining although it could probably have used a few more minutes of character development. Suitably rousing score by Max Steiner.

Verdict: A classic! ***1/2.

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (1958). Director: Jack Arnold.

Russ Tamblyn plays a new student at the local high school who gets involved with the gang known as the Wheelers and Dealers, a girl named Joanie (Diane Jergens), a teacher named Arlene (Jan Sterling), all the while fending off the advances of his trampy Aunt Gwen (Mamie Van Doren). Is Tamblyn bad news for everyone, or does he have a secret having to do with the drug trade and the evil weed that's destroying so many young lives? At first the film is fun -- especially sexy Van Doren -- but it isn't long before tedium sets in. John Drew Barrymore, son of John and father of Drew, co-stars as "J.I.," the leader of the Wheelers and Dealers. As usual, most of the high school students look as if they've been out of college for a couple of years. A far cry from director Jack Arnold's sci fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man and others. Jerry Lee Lewis guest stars and sings the title tune. You can miss it.

Verdict: Not as much fun as you might imagine. *1/2.

THE BIG BOOK OF B MOVIES Or How Low Was My Budget

THE BIG BOOK OF B MOVIES Or How Low Was My Budget. Alex Cross. St. Martin’s Press; 1981.

A very entertaining, lavishly illustrated look at the low-budget second features of Hollywood’s golden age. Cross traces the B film from its origins up to seventies "B" style movies to the television programs they engendered with a breezy, informative style. Chapters deal with thrillers, series and serials, westerns, horror films, musicals, epics and so on. Only on occasion does Cross examine any film with much depth; mostly this is an overview of the subject, but it is full of some good background details as well as notes about the stars of these films, both the up and comers and bigger stars on their way down. Cross also looks at the history of such studios as Republic, Monogram, PRC and others who churned out low-budget B’s alongside some of the majors. There are dozens and dozens of great, crisp black and white photos often with highly amusing captions. [Photo: Beverly Garland screams at one of The Alligator People; from the book's inside cover.

Verdict: Good show! ***.

THE LONELY LIVE FOREVER April 1st

THE LONELY LIVE FOREVER (1937). Director: Dudley Foxwith.

In this lost Bette Davis film, unreleased for over seventy years due to legal problems, Davis plays a lonely woman who falls unrequitedly in love with her younger sister's boyfriend. She has to bravely suffer in silence as the two get married and go off to begin a life together. Davis wishes them happiness but can only wish that things had turned out differently. Then she suffers unbearable guilt when her sister (Mona Morgana) is killed in an automobile accident during her honeymoon. Davis tries her best to console her brother-in-law, trying to do the right thing while continually and hopelessly loving him, and has to watch helplessly as he romances a series of increasingly worthless women. Years go by, there are other marriages, including Davis' to an abusive husband, then she decides that once and for all she will tell the man she has loved for many years how she really feels about him. But just as she's on the verge of finding ultimate happiness fate takes a bitter turn ...

A tear jerker par excellence the movie features an especially intense and poignant performance from Davis as a woman who is tortured by feelings she'd rather not have yet manages to eke out a life for herself, disappointing as it is, in spite of it. The strong characterizations and poetic dialogue by Guillermo Schoen, much of it taken from his play, lift The Lonely Live Forever above the soap opera level. Co-star Ron Davide is excellent as Paul, the object of affection (The gifted young Davide tragically died of kidney failure only weeks after completing the film). This is a very touching and memorable film that is sure to inspire much debate among Davis' legion of admirers.

Verdict: Heartbreaking. ***1/2.

SHE-GIANT VERSUS THE ELEPHANT WOMAN April 1st

SHE-GIANT VERSUS THE ELEPHANT WOMAN (1968). Director: Ricardo Mendez.

Galvanized by the success of American films The Amazing Colossal Man and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Mexican producer Gilberto Roland Young came up with the idea of an ill woman who takes a formula derived from elephant glands and turns into a giant monstrosity with a hideous face and tusks and thirty foot body. The film, the low-budget but zestfully made and acted Attack of the Elephant Woman (1959), was a big hit and engendered no less than thirteen sequels of descending quality. By the mid-sixties, Young had switched from black and white to productions in technicolor and CinemaScope -- but ran out of ideas and enthusiasm. In the 13th entry, She-Giant versus The Elephant Woman -- not to be confused with Rampage of the Colossal She-Giants (1962), the fifth in the series -- zoologist Doug Moore (Clark Young) comes to Africa to study elephants and encounters yet another mad scientist, Lillian Blake (Esther Ramirez), this time a woman, who is fascinated by Angela Waters, The infamous Elephant Woman (who was killed and resuscitated over and over again). Blake is a distant cousin of Waters and has somehow managed to get ahold of her frozen body, which she brings back to life via thawing, electrical charge and -- natch -- more extract of elephant. The "she-giant" that Angela fights is not another giant woman (been there, done that) but simply a very large female elephant who wants her hormones back -- or something like that. The film is surprisingly well-acted, has beautiful settings and wide screen photography, but the Elephant Woman takes too long to appear, her battles with the real elephant are too brief and unconvincing, the FX are poor, and the romance between Moore and Blake is not for a moment believable. Followed by the final entry, Colossal War of the Rampaging She-Beast (1970).

Verdict: Skip this and look for Attack of the Elephant Woman instead. **.

A LIFE BETTER LIVED April 1st

A LIFE BETTER LIVED (1940). Director: Morgan Birtcastle.

Years before Brokeback Mountain there was this never-released film version of Winston Braddock's 1927 novel about two married men who recognize that their feelings for one another are romantic and sexual. In the film version, which stars Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant as the husbands and life-long best friends, the subject matter was muted so that the two men simply realize that they love each other, platonically, more than they do their wives, and in fact their relationship is the primary relationship in each man's life. The script also was more of a comedy-drama than a drama. However, when studio heads saw the film, it was clear that the real theme of the picture was still fairly obvious to the more sophisticated members of the audience so the film was shelved and hidden away in the vaults for decades.

The comedy aspects of A Life Better Lived are pretty lame - the boys making dinner and making a mess of it and that sort of thing -- but the more dramatic sections have some bite to them. Grant's arguments with Helen Jordan as his wife have the ring of truth and go right up to the "Jim McGreevey"edge. When Bogart and Grant talk about how they're "like brothers" they almost seem to protest too much. While it's clear why the film made so many people nervous, in its "sanitized" form it seems to make the hardly revelatory or controversial point that the friendships (straight) men have with other men often matter more to them than their relationships with their wives. The studio was being overly skittish in shelving a film that was much less racy than some, and probably would have gone over the heads of most of the audience. A Life Better Lived ends with Bogart and Grant leaving their wives and going off to live together in the mountains, but it's sort of played for laughs!

Verdict: Surprisingly effective at times but a bowdlerization of the book. **1/2

THE RIVER'S EDGE (1957)

THE RIVER'S EDGE (1957). Director: Allan Dwan.

Ben Cameron (Anthony Quinn) is having a lousy day. His wife Meg (Debra Paget) has decided to leave him, runs off with her old boyfriend Nardo (Ray Milland), and now he's forced to help the pair of them escape over the border because Nardo, who's carrying a suitcase of ill-gotten loot, has committed murder. Well-photographed by Harold Lipstein, the film is enlivened by several startling moments of violence, although it never quite comes to a full boil. Quinn and Milland offer reasonably vivid performances, while Paget, in skin-tight chinos, is mostly decorative. Still it's worth sitting through just to see the nifty way in which evil Milland gets his comeuppance, although most of you will be shouting "Get the money, damn it!"

Verdict: Fast-paced fun, if you don't expect too much. **1/2.

ADAM AND EVALYN aka ADAM AND EVELYNE

ADAM AND EVALYN (1949/British). Director: Harold French. NOTE: Original British title was Adam and Evelyne.

When his friend dies, a British bachelor named Adam (Stewart Granger) goes to tell the man's young daughter, Evalyn (Jean Simmons), who lives in an orphanage, what has happened, and discovers that she thinks he, Granger, is her father. (It is never made clear why her biological father, who never met her, sent her Granger's photograph.) Eventually Adam's gal pal tells the girl -- who becomes Adam's ward -- the truth, and she's sent off to finishing school, coming back a bit more polished and much more grown up. Granger has a girlfriend of sorts, Moira (Helen Cherry) and Evalyn dates Granger's no-account brother Roddy (Raymond Young), but the real crisis comes when Evalyn, who feels gambling destroyed her real father's life, discovers that Adam is a professional gambler. This slight romance isn't really worth much, although Simmons gives a very nice performance. Wilfrid Hyde-White has a small role as a colonel.

Verdict: A bit on the dull side. *1/2.

THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW

THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW (1971). Director: Piers Haggard.

After the claw of an inhuman creature is ploughed up in a field, the teens of a 17th century British village engage in rapes, orgies, murders and the like, while innocent women are nearly drowned as witches. Back in the seventies, the sex, violence and nudity may have made this seem more interesting, but today it's a big bore, very slow-moving, and directed with absolutely no panache by Piers Haggard. Linda Hayden plays Angel, the young beauty around whom most of the trouble is centered. Patrick Wymark is the Judge who decides to put an end to all the nonsense. Very poor horror film that even genre fans will find a snooze. Marc Wilkinson's opening theme music is quirkily memorable, however. Haggard also directed the far superior A Summer Story in 1988, for which he was much more suited.

Verdict: Watch at your own risk. *.

A WOMAN'S SECRET

Maureen O'Hara

A WOMAN'S SECRET (1949) Director: Nicholas Ray.

Flashbacks relate what led up to the shooting of young singer, Susan Caldwell (Gloria Grahame), nicknamed Estrellita, who is the protege of Marian Washburn (Maureen O'Hara, pictured), who took over Susan's career when she lost her own singing voice just as she was on the verge of making it. This sounds like it might make for a very juicy soap opera at the very least, but what results is a pretty boring, minor-league account, with Marians' boyfriend Luke (Melvyn Douglas) talking the whole business over with police inspector Jim Fowler (Jay C. Flippen); Mary Philips is fun as Fowler's take-charge wife. Flashbacks are not very riveting or compelling. Victor Jory is fine as an impresario who is smitten with Susan, and Bill Williams turns up as a man from her past. Gloria Grahame is excellent as Susan, but the movie that surrounds her is a comparatively dull disappointment.

Verdict: Not even worth wasting a rainy day for. *1/2.

THE BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN

THE BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN (1971). Director. Bernard McEveety.

Ben (Charles Bateman), his girlfriend Nicky (Ahna Capri), and his daughter K.T. (Geri Reischl), get lost while traveling to grandma's and wind up in the town of Hillsboro, which is experiencing a chilling supernatural experience. Children are disappearing, people are being gruesomely butchered, and no one -- except for Ben and his group -- can get in or out of the town. The priest (Charles Robinson) thinks a witches coven may be responsible, but his notion is breezily dismissed by Doc Duncan (Strother Martin), who knows more than he's telling. Absorbing, disturbing and strange horror film grabs you from the first -- a non-graphic but gruesome scene when a car with people inside is crushed by a toy tank that somehow becomes the real thing -- and in its own weird way never lets go (although there is a boring nightmare sequence that goes on way too long and seems inserted just to pad the running time). Screenplay by L. Q. Jones, who plays the sheriff, and also co-produced the film with Alvy Moore (best known as "Hank Kimball" from Green Acres), who plays his assistant Tobey. Helene Winston scores as Dame Alice, one of the witches who's pissed off Satan and pays the ultimate price, attacked by a mass of elderly murderers. With a little more effort, better direction, and avoidance of some unfortunate casting choices, this might have been a classic.

Verdict: Creepy little terror film with some memorable scenes and images. ***.

SH! THE OCTOPUS

SH! THE OCTOPUS (1937). Director: William C. McGann.

Allen Jenkins (pictured) has a rare lead role as a cop, Dempsey, teamed with irritating Hugh Herbert, who plays Kelly. The two find themselves investigating an alleged murder at a spooky lighthouse. (The body dangling from way high overhead in the tower, dripping blood onto Herbert, is a startlingly macabre touch). This has something to do with a mysterious crime leader, the scourge of the area, who is known as the Octopus. There is also a real octopus hanging around the lighthouse whose well-articulated tentacles float in now and then to close doors, turn off lights, and snatch people out of windows and into the ocean. John Eldredge plays the new owner of the lighthouse, and Marcia Ralston is a pretty lady, Vesta Vernoff, who is certain that her stepfather is the body dangling over everybody's heads. Despite (or because of) all these macabre, spooky touches, the movie -- based on that chest nut The Gorilla -- is never as funny as it's supposed to be, and hasn't got a strong enough story to hold one's interest. Elspeth Dudgeon is a riot as Vesta's old nanny, but you keep hoping that Abbott and Costello will show up to create some real laughs.

Verdict: Not a total stinker, but close. **.

VALENTINO (1951)

VALENTINO (1951). Director: Lewis Allen.

Mostly fictionalized biography of the great silent star Rudolph Valentino, played here by Anthony Dexter, who looks quite a bit like Rudy and gives an excellent performance as well. Valentino meets famous actress Joan Carlisle (Eleanor Parker) and through her and her director Bill King (Richard Carlson) finds himself in the movies. [Carlisle and King are supposed to be director Rex Ingram and his actress wife Alice Terry, who appeared on-screen with Valentino.] Valentino romances several ladies, including Joan, who's reluctant to get involved with the Latin lover boy because he has serious commitment problems. Instead Joan marries King, and finds herself in an uncomfortable position when she's teamed with Rudy, whom she's still attracted to, in a movie. By focusing on this triangle, the movie completely avoids all the true drama of the essentially homosexual Valentino's life and career and becomes a little tedious. The production isn't first-rate, either. The capable supporting cast includes Lloyd Gough as a nosy reporter Eddie, Otto Kruger as a producer, Patricia Medina as an actress Valentino nearly marries, and Dona Drake in another fiery role as Valentino's dance partner, boss, and lover early in the picture. [Drake was memorable as Bette Davis' slovenly maid in Beyond the Forest.]

Because Valentino wasn't successful despite his fine performance, Anthony Dexter later wound up in such films as Fire Maidens of Outer Space.

Verdict: A bit colorful but not enough. **.

For the real story of Valentino's life, click here to read an article by Lawrence J. Quirk and to see many photos of Valentino and his films.

THE TUNNEL aka TRANSATLANTIC TUNNEL

THE TUNNEL (1935/British). Also released in shortened version as Transatlantic Tunnel. Director: Maurice Elvey.

Absurd sci-fi feature has Richard Dix as a visionary who neglects wife and child as he leads an engineering team determined to build an underground tunnel between London and New York! The project is seen only in idealistic terms -- never practical ones-- and for some reason everyone believes the completion of the tunnel will mean the beginning of world peace! The film takes place in a vague future time period, but nobody ever explains why there's a need for an undersea tunnel when planes would get everyone across the ocean much faster, and boats, while more leisurely, would allow everyone to enjoy the open air and sunshine. [There is a theory that with modern-day technology a train might be able to speed through such a tunnel in less than an hour, but it is only a theory.] This futuristic society has gyrocopters and "televisors" (video phones). and a huge radium drill is employed to dig out the tunnel. The most effective -- and horrifying -- sequence has Dix struggling over whether or not to close huge metal doors on a crowd of screaming men -- including his own son -- because if he doesn't poisonous gas may get loose and possibly kill thousands of other workers in the tunnel. There are also sub-plots with Dix's wife going blind, and another woman falling in love with him, but the drama of the piece seems highly contrived. Leslie Banks, the sinister count of The Most Dangerous Game, plays a sympathetic character, a friend to Dix and his wife (Madge Evans), in this film. The performances are generally quite credible even if the movie isn't.

Verdict: Fairly fast-paced but not especially memorable. *1/2.

A RAGE TO LIVE

A RAGE TO LIVE (1965). Director: Walter Grauman.

Grace Caldwell (Suzanne Pleshette) has a strong sexual drive and won't apologize for it. She gets a bad reputation in the neighborhood and worries her mother and brother. Grace marries dignified Sidney Tate (Bradford Dillman), but when Roger Bannon (Ben Gazzara), an old acquaintance who's working on their barn, tells her how much he's longed for her for years, well Grace just can't help herself and she and hunky Bannon embark on an electric affair. This all leads to a lot of melodramatic but highly entertaining developments and confrontations, especially when one frustrated wife (Bethel Leslie) believes that Grace is carrying on with her husband (Peter Graves). The movie, constricted by the weakening production code, is, alas, of the "sin and suffer" variety, and Grace must pay for actions that many husbands indulge in without guilt or punishment. Still, the movie sort of thumbs its nose at the censors as well. Pleshette and Gazzara make a very sexy pair in and out of the sack. The performances are all good and the picture moves at a brisk pace. Far, far more entertaining than the British study of amorality, Darling, which was released the same year and won a few Oscars. Loosely based on a novel by John O'Hara.

Verdict: Great popcorn movie. ***.

THE DARK ANGEL

THE DARK ANGEL (1935). Director: Sidney Franklin.

Kitty (Merle Oberon) adores the two boys who live nearby, Gerald (Herbert Marshall) and his cousin (who was adopted by Gerald's mother), Alan (Fredric March, pictured). During a brief return home from World War One, Oberon agrees to marry March but they can't find anyone to marry them -- they spend the night together anyway. Gerald thinks Alan has been with another woman and this leads to tragic misunderstandings that affect everyone's lives. The storyline is good, but the script (co-written by Lillian Hellman), acting, and direction conspire to make this a tedious failure with only a nice ending to redeem it. Although the lead actors all have some good moments, for the most part the acting is artificial and stilted. Oberon and March have zero chemistry as a couple, and sometimes March acts as if he still thinks he's in a silent movie. Franklin's insensitive direction muffs scenes that should have had more emphasis, and strips them of all dramatic value. There isn't enough music -- Alfred Newman did the score -- and what there is of it is mediocre. The best performances come not from the leads but from Cora Sue Collins, the adorable little girl who winningly plays Kitty as a child, and the uncredited actor who plays the agitated blind man that March tells to shut up.

Verdict: Disappointing and a bit tedious. **.

ADVENTURES IN THE SCREEN TRADE

ADVENTURES IN THE SCREEN TRADE: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting. William Goldman. Warner Books; 1983.

Although this was first published over twenty years ago, it still makes fascinating reading for anyone interested – literally – in the “back story” of how motion pictures are put together, beginning with the screenplay. And this is true whether you're a great admirer of Goldman's work or think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the worst movies ever made. The book is rich with anecdotes about stars and directors that Goldman has worked with, and you learn how Hollywood really works from the inside-out. You won't agree with all of Goldman's opinions, of course (while I understand Goldman's take on auteurism, I have a much higher regard for Hitchcock's post-Psycho pictures than he does). Goldman's advice to aspiring screenwriters on how to make their scripts star-proof and what to expect from producers and directors is undoubtedly still of value. One refreshing aspect to this part-memoir is that Goldman is rather humble throughout; he doesn't crow about his genius or greatness, or let others do so, on every page. One of the most interesting sections of the book is a reprint of a rather charming short story, "Da Vinci," which he published in his youth. Goldman adapts it into a screenplay, then asks for reactions from an editor, composer, director, etc. (both the screenplay and the reactions are printed in the book.) Goldman doesn't shy away from including George Roy Hill's “withering” (as Goldman puts it) assessment of both story and adaptation (which is actually rather moving).

Verdict: A highly recommended tome for anyone interested in what goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood. ***.

GANGBUSTERS

GANGBUSTERS (1942). Directed by Ray Taylor and Noel Smith.

Based on the radio show of the same name, this is one of the very best Universal serials, with a fast-pace, rapid editing, an effective musical score, and plenty of two-fisted action throughout. Ralph Morgan plays Professor Mortis (his I.D. is revealed in the first chapter), who is out for revenge against the city authorities (this is supposed to be New York but looks more like the typical Hollywood back lot). He is the head of the League of Murdered Men, allegedly bringing various gunsels back to life and keeping them alive with pills that enforce their loyalty. Kent Taylor is the stalwart detective Bill Bannister, and Robert Armstrong is his associate Tim Nolan (as usual Armstrong pretty much just plays himself). Irene Hervey is the intrepid girl reporter. There’s some good character actors in supporting roles but William Haade makes the biggest impression as Mike Taboni, a hood who murders Bannister’s kid brother, commits "suicide," and is revivified by Professor Mortis.

Although pretty much a dim bulb, Taboni is smart enough to ask Mortis who brought him, Mortis, another "suicide," back to life. "An intelligent question," says Mortis, "One best left unanswered." Understandably. I believe we never learn who’s sending Mortis all those notes delivered by the newsboy, either. There are some good cliffhangers in this serial, including one in which a car plunges several stories down a shaft, and a bit involving Hervey switching from the running board of one car to another. The pace never flags. An amusing aspect of the serial is that the secret entrance to the gang’s underground HQ is a trapdoor located right in the middle of the subway tracks. Of course, placing the trapdoor off to the side of the tracks would eliminate the danger as well as the ending that you know is coming. It’s interesting that instead of doing brief recaps at the start of each episode, the serial instead inserts brief new sequences that help the audience catch up with what’s going on – a nice touch. This may not quite be in the "classic" league, but it’s certainly a pretty good serial. And from Universal, no less.

Verdict: Good show! ***.

ROCKIN' IN THE ROCKIES

ROCKIN' IN THE ROCKIES (1945). Director: Vernon Keays.

Shorty Williams (Moe Howard) takes over his cousin's ranch when he's out of town and creates a shambles with his pals Larry (Larry Fine) and Curly (Curly Howard) -- yes, it's The Three Stooges -- two aspiring singers named June (Mary Beth Hughes) and Betty (Gladys Blake), and the four Hoosier Hotshots, who also want a shot in show biz. Jay Kirby plays cousin Rusty, who's mighty perturbed to find a whole house-load of uninvited guests at his ranch. A few snappy musical numbers -- including the catchy title tune -- are interspersed with the Stooges' amusing hijinks. No world beater, perhaps, but in its own limited way it's certainly good-natured fun.

Verdict: A must for Stooge fanatics. **1/2.

STORM AT DAYBREAK

STORM AT DAYBREAK (1933). Director: Richard Boleslawski.

The assassination of Arch-Duke Ferdinand exacerbates tensions in Austria between the Serbs and Hungarians. But make no mistake, politics are only a backdrop in this movie that is really about the "eternal triangle." Dushan Radovic, the Serbian mayor of the town, is friends with the Hungarian Captain Geza Petery (Nils Asther), who is really in charge of the area. Unfortunately, Petery and Radovic's wife Irina (Kay Francis) find themselves falling in love. Dushan mistakes Irina's strange attitude when she's around Petery with anti-Hungarian hatred, when actually she's becoming more and more obsessed with the man ... Handsome production values, an intelligent script (by Bertram Millhauser, taken from Sandor Hunyady's play), and fine performances from the leads make this a compelling and interesting romantic drama. One bizarre aspect is that the extras always seem to be singing! Some powerful scenes in this and a satisfyingly tragic wind-up.

Verdict: Intriguing lost drama. ***.