X-MEN FIRST CLASS

X-MEN FIRST CLASS (2011). Director: Matthew Vaughn.

This installment in the X-Men series takes us back to 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis and shows us how the group of mutant super-heroes was formed. But first there's a prologue in 1944 in which Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), apparently posing as a Nazi named Schmidt, induces young Eric Lensherr to unleash his magnetic powers by murdering his mother in front of his eyes. [It makes no sense that the boy would then kill the guards but leave Shaw alive aside from the fact that the plot seems to require this.] Years later Eric (Michael Fassbender), soon to be known as mutant terrorist Magneto, is an ally of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), both of whom are working against Shaw and his sinister aides Emma Frost (the unfortunately named January Jones), and Azazel (Jason Flemying). Other X-characters include a pre-furry Hank McCoy AKA the Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Mystique AKA Raven (Beth Goddard), mutant researcher Moria MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), and a female Angel (Zoe Kravitz), whose being a former lap dancer seems to ensure that she'll go over to the dark side (yawn). Aside from some slips, X-Men First Class intelligently transfers and slightly transforms the mutant universe from comic book page to theater screen, and it does so with great dramatic flair and some excellent acting. Sensitive McAvoy and an intense Fassbinder are as splendid as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen playing their older counterparts in the earlier films, Bacon is superb, and Jones displays just the right amount of confidence and attitude as Frost; other cast members are also on the money. Some very exciting and adroitly directed action sequences as well. Let's hope we see more X-action on the screen. Previous films were X-Men, X 2, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Excellent score by Henry Jackman.

Verdict: First class indeed! ***1/2.

RADAR PATROL VS. SPY KING

RADAR PATROL VS. SPY KING (12 chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

Operative Chris Calvert (Kirk Alyn) and scientist Joan Hughes (Jean Dean) versus Spy King John Baroda (John Merton) and hench-woman Nitra (Eve Whitney), who hope to sabotage radar defense stations. The cliffhangers involve deadly acid, deadlier explosions and cars off of cliffs, plus a poison gas inside an encyclopedia and an exciting plane crash in chapter eleven. Tom Steele and Tristram Coffin are also in the cast. The serial has mediocre villains but a good climax in the air. George J. Lewis, who plays good guy Lt. Agura, was a villain in Federal Operator 99. Jean Dean was also in Blood of Dracula and Eve Whitney, playing herself, was the brunette party goer who inspires the jealous gals to go to "Charm School" on a classic episode of I Love Lucy. Merton was in several other serials, including Brick Bradford, Hop Harrigan, and The Adventures of Sir Galahad.

Verdict: Acceptable but second-rate serial. **1/2.  

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.

BETTY WHITE IN BLACK AND WHITE

BETTY WHITE IN BLACK AND WHITE DVD collection.

If you can't get enough of Betty White, here's a DVD collection of some of her shows from the fifties. There are two episodes of Life with Elizabeth that she did with Del Moore [three sketches per episode] in which they play a married couple. The skits range in quality from amusing to tiresome but all are well-acted. Betty reveals a very pleasant singing voice on an episode of the daytime variety show The Betty White Show. Betty surprises a young orphan (also named Betty) with a ton of gifts but it's hard to tell if the strangely subdued child is shell-shocked or annoyed that she didn't get the gift she wanted! Then there are two episodes of the sitcom A Date with the Angels in which Betty and Bill Williams play another married couple. On one episode stately Nancy Kulp [Miss Jane Hathaway of The Beverly Hillbillies] plays a highly sophisticated wife of a friend. Judging by these episodes, A Date with the Angels was pleasant but forgettable. Lastly, there's two episodes of yet another program called The Betty White Show [this one aired in the evening] which also has comedy sketches featuring Jimmy Boyd and the wonderful Reta Shaw. I have to confess I didn't like the Olga cleaning woman sketch any better than I did Carol Burnett's later charwoman routine. All in all, this is an interesting collection, however. White exhibited a bundle of comedic talent practically from the first.

Verdict: If you're not into the "fabulous fifties," there's always White in The Golden Girls. **1/2.

BLADE

Wesley Snipes as vampire/vampire-hunter Blade

BLADE (1998). Director: Stephen Norrington.

The character of Blade first appeared in the Marvel comic book Tomb of Dracula. He was human, immune to vampire bites, and on a mission to find the particular vampire who turned his mother, even as he was in her belly, into a bloodsucker. Along the way he'd kill any vampire he encountered. Oddly, when this movie was made decades after Blade first appeared, they borrowed an idea from rival DC comics series "I, Vampire" from House of Mystery, in that like the hero of that series, the movie Blade is also a "good" vampire. A bigger problem is that this film isn't especially well directed, and the action scenes have no true punch, although there is a nifty sequence when skulls tear their way out of vampires' mouths. Wesley Snipes isn't much of an actor, and his performance seems to be a collection of grimaces. As his main adversary Deacon Frost, Stephen Dorff [Xlll] underplays too much and betrays no dramatic flair as the villain. Kris Kristofferson, without stretching overly much, probably gives the best performance as Blade's associate, Whistler. N'Busche Wright is also okay as a young doctor who becomes embroiled in dastardly events after being bitten. Blade is a somewhat noble figure who needs better treatment and a better actor. Unlike Tomb of Dracula, written by Marv Wolfman, the characterization in this film is minimal. Followed by two sequels.

Verdict: Stick with Dracula. **.

THE HOAX

THE HOAX (2006). Director: Lasse Hallstrom.

"No one flew you to Nassau, Cliff -- you're not that important."

In 1971 writer Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) comes up with an idea to secure respect and power in the publishing field by purporting to have worked with the infamous Howard Hughes on his autobiography. Excited by what they think they've got in their hands, his agent and publishers go along with him, quelling suspicions, until the questions become insurmountable. The film details how Irving, aided by collaborator Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina) and Irving's wife, Edith (Marcia Gay Harden), comes up with some immoral if gutsy maneuverings to outwit his doubters, rips off his publishers for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and basically disgraces himself -- although Irving himself probably wouldn't have put it that way. Irving tries to convince people that his real goal was to "take down a corrupt president" in a clumsy attempt to tie it all in with Watergate and come out smelling like a rose. Irving published a book about his experiences as a con artist, which was turned into this film, for which he was undoubtedly paid good money for the screen rights, sort of proving that sometimes crime does pay. By all rights, Irving should have been completely shunned by the publishing world but he managed to see a few more books in print. Gere is quite good as Irving, if probably less obnoxious than the real man, and an excellent Molina (Spider-Man 2) steals the show as his buddy-in-crime, the forgotten Suskind. Harden and other cast members, including the always-oustanding Eli Wallach, are also notable.

Verdict: Entertaining, but basically another hoax. **1/2.

 

DEATH KAPPA

DEATH KAPPA (2010). Tomo'o Haraguchi.

When a young Japanese woman's grandmother is killed by drunken, speeding revelers, a kappa, or water goblin, who loves cucumbers comes forth to get even with them. Later, when a gigantic monster called Hangylas attacks the city, the kappa grows to humongous size and takes it on. It's hard to tell if this movie is a deliberate parody or just utter schlock. The light-hearted tone is at odds with scenes of flying severed limbs and heads. Shaky camera movements, and no real improvement in effects since Godzilla of the fifties.

Verdict: atrocious. O stars.

HENRY ALDRICH'S LITTLE SECRET

Charles Smith

HENRY ALDRICH'S LITTLE SECRET (1944). Director: Hugh Bennett.

"I stand here slaving over a hot iron all day and you go out and make dates." -- Dizzy.

Henry (Jimmy Lydon) and his best bud Dizzy (Charles Smith) are in more hot water when they wind up babysitting little Ricky Martin (John David Robb) for a woman (Ann Doran) who leaves town abruptly to try to clear her wrongly imprisoned husband.This doesn't prevent Henry from going out on a date with sexy Jennifer (Tina Thayer), who has a ring Henry desperately wants to get back. Henry takes the baby with him when he takes Jennifer to a night club, and even asks the hat check girl: "I don't suppose you have any place to check a baby?" Lydon and Smith are both excellent -- like Lydon, Smith was a highly talented comic actor -- and this final entry in the Aldrich Family series is one of the very best and funniest.

Verdict: Henry goes out in style. ***.

HERE WE GO AGAIN: MY LIFE IN TELEVISION 1949 - 1995 BETTY WHITE

HERE WE GO AGAIN: My Life in Television, 1949 - 1995. Betty White.
Scribner; 1995. Updated edition.

The multi-talented White has written an engaging book about her days on television starting with a five hour long daily show in the fifties, at least three shows named "The Betty White Show," Life with Elizabeth, her stint as Sue Ann Nivens on Mary Tyler Moore, The Golden Girls, her many appearances on classic game shows, and her romance and marriage to Allen Ludden, host of Password and an actor in his own right. White also appeared a couple of years ago on the CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful and gave a wonderful dramatic performance. Still, going strong, she is in the cast of TV Land's sitcom Hot in Cleveland. White writes with warmth, enthusiasm, and compassion, admitting some things are gratifying to the ego but never coming off as an egomaniac. The book provides an often fascinating look at the early days of television and the sometimes startling contrasts between those days and the mega-wonderland of the multi channel, Oprah-bucks cable experience of today. She's able to provide an interesting book even though she doesn't tell nasty stories about her co-workers, a feat in itself.

Verdict: Let's hope this gal goes on until shes 100 and then some!***.

DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE

DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE (12 chapter Republic serial/1939). Directors: John English; William Witney.

Harry Crowell (the great Charles Middleton) escapes from prison and is out to get diabolical revenge against Horace Granville (Miles Mander), whom he blames for his imprisonment. Crowell actually manages to disguise himself as Granville, hide the real Granville in a dungeon, and take his place in his own mansion -- with no one suspecting! The "daredevils." who are actually circus performers, get involved in the hunt for Crowell after the little brother of one of them is killed in one of the disasters Crowell engineers. Then there's the "Red Circle," a mysterious cloaked figure who leaves notes for the three daredevils  -- played by Charles Quigley (The Crimson Ghost, The Iron Claw), Bruce Bennett (Herman Brix) and David Sharpe. Carole Landis [A Scandal in Paris] is Granville's daughter, Blanche, and we mustn't forget the dog, Tuffie, a beautiful collie. There are several notable cliffhangers, including a flooded tunnel in chapter one.

Verdict: Fast-paced serial action. ***.

THE END OF NORMAL

THE END OF NORMAL: A WIFE'S ANGUISH, A WIDOW'S NEW LIFE. Stephanie Madoff Mack. Blue Rider Press; 2011.

NOTE: Great Old Movies is reviewing this as it sounds like a good bet for a telefilm. 

Stephanie Madoff Mack, the widow of Mark Madoff and the daughter-in-law of Bernie Madoff, writes of her ordeal [with the aid of Tamara Jones]. I'm not certain if a book on the trials and tribulations of the wealthy will necessarily go over big in these days of Occupy Wall Street and the 99%, but The End of Normal still makes a compelling read. It's unlikely that the book will unite Mack with the other members of the Madoff family as she writes unflinchingly of the foibles of her mother-in-law, Ruth, and brother-in-law, not to mention the deservedly detested Bernie. In other words, there's lots of insider "dish" in the tome. Mack describes Ruth as being "clueless," but she probably should have wondered whether it was a good idea to mention how she put up her own money, thousands of dollars, to run in a marathon when she's supposedly broke. [Of course, upper class people only think they're broke when they're down to their last $100,000.] Mark Madoff's decision to kill himself was a bad one, considering he left behind a wife and children, but as this book describes the emotional torment he went through dealing with betrayals by both father and mother, his ruined reputation and the like, it is easy to understand that his killing himself did not necessarily mean that he knew what his father was up to. That being said, other books, such as Madoff with the Money, insist that other family members did know what Bernie was doing but just looked the other way. Was it guilt, innocence, or the loss of a cushy lifestyle? Who knows?

Verdict: Very readable. ***.

SCRE4M

SCRE4M (also known as Scream 4/2011). Director: Wes Craven.

"How do you think people become famous? You don't have to do anything. Just have fucked up things happen to you."

It's been eleven years since the last Scream movie [Scream 3].  Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has written a book about her ordeal and is back in town to promote it. Wouldn't you know there's yet another deranged individual who begins phoning teens, asking about horror movies, and slicing and dicing with abandon. The film is full of far too many unlikable characters, full of attitude, but sometimes the more appealing people get killed off as well. Emma Roberts plays Sidney's cousin, Jill, and Hayden Panetierre is her friend, Kirby. Mary McDonnell is Jill's mother. David Arquette and Courtney Cox are back as Sheriff Dewey and his wife, reporter, Gail Weathers. Anna Paquin is supposed to be in this but I swear I never noticed her, possibly because she's older than she was in X-Men. The picture isn't badly directed by Wes Craven [Kevin Williamson returns as writer], but you often get the impression that the music is doing most of the work. The acting is generally good, and whatever its flaws, the picture is entertaining and suspenseful.

Verdict: The Scream franchise reinvented for the youtube generation. ***.

SANDS OF THE KALAHARI

Stuart Whitman vs. a ticked off baboon

SANDS OF THE KALAHARI (1965). Director: Cy Endfield.

This was one of two heavily promoted desert/plane crash movies released in 1965, the other being The Flight of the Phoenix. In this a group of travelers, told their regular flight has been delayed, decide to continue on in a small charter plane. Unfortunately said plane runs into a swarm of locusts which clog the engines and cause the craft to crash in the middle of the Kalahari desert. Unlike Phoenix, this picture includes a pretty blond (Susannah York) for some of the men to fight over. Stuart Whitman plays a nasty character who forces one older man (Theodore Bikel) to march through the desert at gun point to try to get help after the pilot, who set off on a similar journey, doesn't come back. [What happens to the pilot is quite ironic.] Eventually a battle of wills develops between Whitman and the remaining passengers, especially Mike Bain (Stanley Baker), who rightly sees the man as the dangerous nut that he is. A miscast Whitman is only adequate in the role of the basically sociopathic O'Brien, and at times York doesn't seem to know what to make of her helpless and unsympathetic character. Baker, Bikel, and Harry Andrews as a German passenger are all excellent. Although the advertisements for the film played up the presence of dangerous baboons in the area, these animals really haven't much to do until the very end of the picture. [Killer baboons later showed up in In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro.]

Verdict: Man vs. man with nature waiting in the wings. ***.

GORILLA AT LARGE

GORILLA AT LARGE (1954) Director: Harmon Jones.

When people start getting murdered at a carnival, the police wonder if the culprit is the star attraction, Goliath the gorilla, or someone in an ape suit. Suspects for the latter include the owner Cy Miller (Raymond Burr); his wife, Laverne (Anne Bancroft), who is a trapeze artist who works with Goliath; Joey Matthews (Cameron Mitchell), who has a crush on Laverne; Kovaks (Peter Whitney), Laverne's ex-husband; and a few others. The cops on the case include Lee J. Cobb (The Exorcist), Lee Marvin (Raintree County), and Warren Stevens (Phone Call from a Stranger). [Clearly this is one low-budget movie that has a very interesting cast.] This is a modestly entertaining, generally well-acted thriller that holds the attention if nothing else. Director Hrmon Jones did mostly television work, including a few episodes of Perry Mason. NOTE: Midnite [sic] Movies' remastered DVD looks great in high definition.

Verdict: Fun, even if most of the cast went on to much better things. **1/2.

DANGERS OF THE CANADIAN MOUNTED

DANGERS OF THE CANADIAN MOUNTED  (12 chapter Republic serial/1948), Directors: Fred C. Brannon; Yakima Canutt.

Crooks headed by a mysterious figure known as "The Chief" are after the 700-year-old treasure of Genghis Khan, hidden in Alcana. Homesteaders want to build a road in the area, which the bad guys try to stop as it will interfere with their searching. Deciphering the markings on certain coins may help find the treasure.There are several well-staged and inventive fight scenes, and a climax in "the Cave of 1000 Tunnels." Jim Bannon stars as Sgt. Royal, and stuntman Tom Steele plays several roles. Dorothy Granger and Virginia Belmont are the gals involved in the action. Highlights include the forest fire in chapter two, a fight on a plane and subsequent crash in chapter four, and a derailed train in chapter nine. Bannon was also in The Missing Juror and Unknown World.

Verdict: Snappy fun. ***

MYSTERY ON MONSTER ISLAND

MYSTERY ON MONSTER ISLAND (1981). Director: Juan Piquer Simon.

Jeff Morgan (Ian Sera) wants to see the world before settling down, and goes on a voyage arranged by his Uncle William (Peter Cushing). But the young man winds up shipwrecked on Spencer Island with all manner of beasties, the nervous-nellie instructor Prof. Artelect (David Hatton), and a fellow named Taskinar (Terence Stamp). They encounter everything from giant steam-snorting caterpillars to crazed kelp creatures, as well as phony rubber fish men. Most of the monsters are barely mobile, but for once there's an explanation for this, which I won't give away here. Very loosely based on the novel "L'École des Robinsons" by Jules Verne. There's some charming stuff in this, including a chimp who wears men's shoes, and a good sequence when the group uses primitive weapons to fight off some invaders.

Verdict: Not quite as awful as it could have been. **1/2.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011). Director: Joe Johnston.

The super-hero Captain America first appeared in comics during the golden age of the 1940's. He was brought back in the sixties with the explanation that he had been in suspended animation for decades. Captain America, The First Avenger takes the same tack, but decides to make the movie a long flashback to the forties, presumably hoping sequels and the upcoming Avengers movie will show Cap in action in the modern age. Steve Rogers is a short, skinny but brave and plucky young man who wants to serve his country but is judged 4-F. The character is so likable that you root for him to make it just as he is [the comics never delved too much into Roger's pre-Captain America life], although to be fair it is not his new physique [after he volunteers for an experiment] that wins him admiration, but his actions. For inexplicable reasons the script [by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and others]  includes a dumb middle section in which the new Cap is not sent into action but only used as a poster boy in war bonds advertisements, allowing other characters to call him "Tinkerbell" and "chorus girl." This has absolutely nothing to do with the comics. One intelligent change is that his boy partner, Bucky, has been turned into an adult, another soldier and good friend of Steve's [he never actually becomes a costumed partner, however].

Chris Evans is quite good as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Hayley Atwell is acceptable as Peggy Carter, who was a spy in the comics but here is a drill sergeant [not likely in the forties!]. Tommy Lee Jones, looking like the wreck of the Hesperus, plays an old warhorse colonel. Hugo Weaving is effective enough as Johann Schmidt, better known as the evil Red Skull, Cap's nemesis. [In this the Skull belongs to the evil organization Hydra.] The trouble with Captain America is that it doesn't have much of a story, the action scenes are all kind of blah and are poorly directed and edited for the most part, and it never catches the sheer colorful excitement of the comic book hero. Believe it or not, despite all the money spent on this production, it really isn't much better than that the low-budget Captain America with Matt Salinger. And it's never as thrilling or entertaining as the old cliffhanger serial, Captain America. It also at times has an old-fashioned sensibility that is not really explained away by the time period. NOTE: To read more of the sixties comic book adventures of Captain America, see The Silver Age of Comics.

Verdict: A major disappointment. **.

THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX

THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (1965). Producer/director: Robert Aldrich.

"The little men with the slide rules and computers are going to inherit the earth."

This movie gets right into the action, without taking time to even introduce its characters, as a plane develops problems and then crash lands in the desert with veteran pilot Frank Towns (James Stewart) at the helm. However, there's plenty of time to meet the survivors during the rather slow early sections of the film: Towns second-in-command, Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough); by-the-book but admirable Captain Harris (Peter Finch); crazy Cobb (Ernest Borgnine); haughty engineer Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger); and others. During the strangely uninvolving first half of the film you keep hoping that Ursula Andress or Raquel Welch will come parachuting into the scene and all of the men can fight over her, and at least something will happen, but it's not that kind of movie. Instead the film develops an interesting plot line wherein Dorfmann insists that by using the remaining parts of the plane he can build another craft that will take the men out of the Sahara before they die of thirst or starvation. Towns thinks that the plane he'll build won't ever get off the ground. Dorfmann has a rather startling and darkly amusing secret, however. There's a tense sequence involving some Arabs who may or may not be friendly, but the climax when the "phoenix" takes off is surprisingly brief. And there's a lot more that you could quibble about. Stewart seems a bit miscast and out of his element -- although certainly not bad -- as the somewhat defeatist Captain Towns, but Attenborough, Finch, and Kruger are superb, and Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Ronald Fraser and the others aren't exactly slouches. Like Lifeboat, The White Tower and many other movies Phoenix deals with the cliche of ruthless German efficiency, an aspect that was kind of tiresome, being done to death, by the sixties.   

Verdict: Eventually builds in intensity and interest; some wonderful performances don't hurt. ***.

BLOODY PIT OF HORROR

Mickey Hargitay

BLOODY PIT OF HORROR (1965). Director: Max Hunter [Massimo Pupillo].

A group of photographers and models think an old castle will be the perfect place to have a photo shoot for the covers of Italian horror novels. But they are unaware that Travis Anderson (Mickey Hargitay), the current resident and a former actor and muscleman, has gone insane and thinks he is the medieval Crimson Executioner, a former resident, who was executed and entombed in the castle. Edith (Luisa Barrato) was once engaged to Travis, so he lets the group stay -- and become his victims. Some of these wind up in his torture chamber, where there is a descending canopy outfitted with spikes, or in a death trap maze with a big robot spider with poisoned fangs and a web. This is hardly a great movie, but there are some zesty, colorful sequences. Hargitay was married to Jayne Mansfield and is the father of Mariska Hargitay of Law and Order: SVU.

Verdict: There have been worse. **1/2.

FIEND WITHOUT A FACE

FIEND WITHOUT A FACE (1958). Director: Arthur Crabtree.

In and around a U.S. Air Force base in Manitoba, mysterious things are happening. Strange sloshing sounds are heard and people are suddenly killed by a weird invisible presence. Corpses are found missing their brains and spinal cords. Major Cummings (Marshall Thompson) investigates and comes across an old professor (Kynaston Reeves), and his pretty secretary Barbara (Kim Parker), the former of whom may know more than he realizes about the deaths. This movie may seem to borrow certain concepts from Forbidden Planet, but it was based on a story that pre-dates that great sci fi film. The stop-motion effects to bring the unusual monsters to life at the climax aren't bad at all, although some of the process work is clumsy; the sound effects are great. Kim Parker, who also appeared in Fire Maidens of Outer Space and a few other films, played another secretary in one more film and then was gone from the screen; she is not bad in Fiend. Crabtree also directed the nifty Horrors of the Black Museum. Thompson was "introduced" in Blonde Fever, although it was not his first movie. He did a number of genre items such as First Man into Space. Fiend without a Face takes its place beside The Brain from Planet Arous as a great brain movie. NOTE: You can read more about this movie and others like it in Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies.

Verdict: You can't beat those brains! ***.

I AIN'T DOWN YET: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY LITTLE MARGIE GALE STORM

I AIN'T DOWN YET: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY LITTLE MARGIE. Gale Storm with Bill Libby. Bobbs-Merrill; 1981.

Gale Storm appeared in some musicals and other movies for Monogram and other studios before finding lasting fame on two hit TV series, My Little Margie and Oh Susanna!. A big problem with this book is that it's less of a performing arts autobiography than it is an inspirational tome about alcoholism. Storm can't figure out why she began drinking [the fact that it got serious when she switched from hit TV shows to dinner theater may have had something to do with it] but she was in serious denial over her problem even when her liver expanded to "three to four times its regular size." The book has a few pages on show business and the people Storm worked with, and many, many more pages that read as a testimonial for an alcoholism clinic that Storm credits with saving her life and for which she eventually became a paid consultant. This book may have some value for people with drinking problems, but if you're expecting something that tears the lid off TV and tinsel town, look elsewhere. Storm doesn't even have that much to say about her co-stars. Sections are written by her husband, four children, and even the head of the aforementioned clinic. Storm's religiosity occasionally becomes borderline cloying. Readable, fast-paced, and not badly done for what it is, it still should have been so much more.

Verdict: Watch an episode of My Little Margie instead. **1/2.

BRICK BRADFORD

FRONT: Noell Neill, Kane Richmond and Rick Vallin

BRICK BRADFORD (15 chapter Columbia serial/1947). Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Carr.

Kane Richmond stars as the comic strip sci fi hero in this disappointing serial from Columbia. In an early use of the teleportation that later become a major component of Star Trek, a scientist creates a dimensional doorway that manages to transmit people to the moon, where there appears to be a war between two sects. Brick is accompanied by his pal, Sandy (Rick Vallin). In a weird alliance, Earth gangsters join up with some of the moon aliens to try to get their hands on a weapon that can intercept and destroy missiles. In a couple of chapters, the boys wind up traveling through time and encounter pirates seeking treasure. In other words, this serial is all over the lot and never quite gets a handle on anything. Pierre Watkin is a professor and Linda Leighton [aka Linda Johnson] is the daughter who doesn't get much to do. Noel Neill shows up later in the serial as a gal involved with the aforementioned pirates. Serial Queen Carol Forman also doesn't get to do much in her few appearances as Queen Khana of the moon. There are a couple of decent cliffhangers: a fall off a cliff into lava in chapter four; and a batch of acid that spills and flows towards an unconscious Brick.

Verdict: Not one of the more memorable serials. **.

THE BOX

THE BOX (2009). Writer/director: Richard Kelly.

Loosely based on Richard Matheson's short story "Button, Button," this film at least has an intriguing premise: a man (Frank Langella) shows up at the home of a young couple (Cameron Diaz; James Marsden) and gives them a small box. If they push the button in the box, he tells them, they will receive one million dollars, but someone -- they don't know who -- will die. The moral dilemma, uncertainty and sheer strangeness of the situation carry the movie ... for a time. But despite some striking images and not bad acting, the picture is more like a bad dream than anything else -- it's impossible to tell if it's supposed to be taken seriously or not. Ultimately it's a waste of a great idea.

Verdict: Not much point in opening this box. **.

DICK TRACY'S G-MEN

Phyllis Isley [Jennifer Jones] and Ralph Byrd

DICK TRACY'S G-MEN (15 chapter Republic serial/1939). Directors: John English; William Witney.

Criminal genius Zarnoff (Irving Pichel) manages to escape execution, and for 15 chapters matches wits, guns and devious plots with his nemesis, Dick Tracy (Ralph Byrd). Tracy gets out of many of his predicaments in a clever and realistic fashion. The more memorable of these predicaments include a death trap in chapter two; a crane dropping tons of lumber on Dick in chapter seven; a horrifying dirigible fire in chapter nine; and a room with a fiery dynamo in chapter ten. The climax with Tracy and Zarnoff squaring off in the desert is also memorable. Plenty of fisticuffs and a good use of pre-existing locations. Zarnoff tries to sell plans to a foreign power as well as steal a new explosive formula. If there is any problem with the serial it's that Pichel is rather colorless as the villain. Phyllis Isley plays Tracey's secretary and has little to do. There is absolutely nothing about her that would suggest she'd become a major star under the name Jennifer Jones. Not quite as good as Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc.

Verdict: More fun from Republic studios. ***.

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS (1972). Director: William F. Claxton.

"Attention! Attention! There is a herd of killer rabbits heading this way!"

Roy (Stuart Whitman) and Gerry Bennett (Janet Leigh) are scientists who come to Arizona to deal with an explosion in the rabbit population and the dangers this represents to the ecosystem. Trying to curb the rabbits', ahem, appetites, their experiments only result in rabbits that are much larger and astonishingly ferocious. Supposedly remaining vegetarians, they nonetheless go around attacking people, leaving mutilated corpses in their wake. Now, it would have been one thing if the special effects department had come up with some fearsomely mutated rodents with large fangs and grotesque appearances, but all they did was use real cute bunny rabbits stuffed into miniature sets and interacting with people via process shots. Some of these sequences aren't badly done, but the sound effects are what make the cuddly bunnies seem so horrible. The best scene is the climax when Leigh tries to keep the surrounding rabbits away from her and her little daughter after their camper gets a flat tire at night. Rory Calhoun plays a rancher and DeForest Kelley, almost fresh from Star Trek, is a friend of the Bennetts. Played completely straight, the movie is completely absurd but somehow amusing and entertaining, if strictly for monster movie devotees.

Verdict: Stupid, but a lot of fun in spite of it. **1/2.

NIGHT WATCH

NIGHT WATCH (1973). Director: Brian G. Hutton.

Wealthy Ellen Wheeler  (Elizabeth Taylor) is strangely obsessed with thoughts of the death of her philandering first husband, causing concern in her second husband, John (Laurence Harvey) and her best friend, Sarah (Billie Whitelaw), who's there for a visit. Worse, Ellen is convinced that during a storm she saw a corpse in the window in the abandoned house across the way. But nobody seems to believe her, and the police think she's dotty. Night Watch is based on a novel by Lucille Fletcher, who also wrote the original play upon which Sorry, Wrong Number was based. While Night Watch may not be in  that league [and Liz Taylor is no Barbara Stanwyck] and the plot may or may not hold up under close scrutiny, it's still an entertaining picture with a darkly amusing final twist. Taylor (Rhapsody) is okay, but Harvey (Room at the Top) and especially Whitelaw (The Omen) are a lot better. NOTE: This is now available in a remastered edition from Warner Archives.

Verdict: Like an extended episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. ***

PHANTOM FROM SPACE

PHANTOM FROM SPACE (1953). Director: W. Lee Wilder.

A man in a helmet with no head attacks two men and kills them, but primarily because they saw him as a menace and alarmed him. The authorities then enter the picture and try to track down the creature. It seems this "phantom" is an invisible alien who is trying to communicate with earthlings and not having much luck -- or vice versa. A police lieutenant named Bowers (Harry Landers) is one of those trying to get to the bottom of the mystery represented by the phantom. The movie is well-intentioned but rather dull. Director Lee Wilder was the brother of the much better-known and more celebrated Billy Wilder. Most of Lee Wilder's directorial effects were cheapie creepies like this film and the more entertaining Killers from Space but he did nail one out of the ballpark with the excellent Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons starring George Sanders.  Harry Landers, who looks a lot like Ed Kemmer, did mostly televisions work, and was uncredited as the man with Miss Lonelyhearts in Hitchcock's Rear Window. There are no other name or even near-name actors in Phantom. Nice closing music by William Lava.

Verdict: You can miss it and still have a full life. **.

ZODIAC

ZODIAC (2007). Director: David Fincher.

The true story of the hunt for a serial killer who taunts the very people who are pursuing him, which include Inspector Toschi (Mark Ruffalo); Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), who wrote the book this is based upon; Inspector Armstrong (Anthony Edwards); Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) of the San Francisco Chronicle; and others. The movie details how the case comes to take over the lives of everyone trying to shut the killer down permanently. Zodiac is completely absorbing and very well-acted --- John Carroll Lynch as a suspect is especially notable, among others -- but ultimately it's frustratingly open-ended. Still, there's never a boring moment.

Verdict: Recommended for fans of true crime. ***.