Doomed to Die (1940)

This is the fifth movie in the Mr. Wong franchise and the last starring Boris Karloff in the role. The movie opens with news footage of a horrible accident at sea where the ocean liner Wentworth Castle catches fire and sinks, killing many passengers and crew. Then we see the owner of the ship, Cyrus Wentworth, in his office. A few different folks show up to visit him including a competitor, his lawyer, and the man that wants to marry his daughter. Unfortunately, that man is also the son of the competitor, Fleming, whom Wentworth wants nothing to do with. Then a shot rings out and he is dead. The last person in the office with him was the young Dick Fleming, so it is assumed he is the killer.

After sixteen minutes of the sixty-two minute Mr. Wong shows up at the behest of the lady reporter who also happens to be the fiancé’s friend. They don’t think that Dick is the murderer, so Wong starts to investigate the passenger list to see if there is maybe another reason for the murder. Why? Well folks I’m sad to say that this isn’t the kind of movie that is going to share the clues. Wong goes to visit the Tong who let him know that they were sneaking in some bonds to get them out of China and into the states safely and that those bonds are missing. That ends up being the key to the crime. Though we sit thru a bunch of nonsense before finding that out.

I like these movies but at this point it feels like they weren’t trying anymore. The mystery is a nonstarter with the murderer committing the crime from across the hall and then tossing the gun into the room before running away. No nifty gimmick or hard to figure out sequence of events. Hell this feels like a crime that Wong’s sidekick Captain Street of the San Francisco police should be able to sort out himself. Though what really annoyed me is the fact that the most important clue that explains all of Wong’s actions is kept from us until he reveals the killer’s identity. Come on guys we are supposed to play along with you in solving the crime and you just dump the vital clue with a minute left after all has been solved! That sucks.

Doomed to Die also feels very padded with lots of walking around and way too many characters. It isn’t like they are suspects or more victims either. They are just sort of there. That includes Captain Street who pops in here and there to be a buffoon but plays no real part in the story. He is a reoccurring character from the previous five movies so that was surprising. I also noticed that they used or should I say reused footage from previous Wong movies in odd ways. Characters clearly are different in the closeups from those that were there in the longer shots. This feels like a movie that they just tossed together as quickly and cheaply as possible.

This is the first time in the Wong franchise that I can’t recommend it. I’m annoyed that this was the last outing of Karloff in the role and that they made such a mess of it. There is one more movie which I will cover but it stars Keye Luke. I know that the studio tried to make a go of it with an actual Asian actor playing the detective so I’m hoping that it is a better flick. That said skip Doomed to Die. There is nothing worth watching here.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

The Fatal Hour (1940)

I covered the first three Mr. Wong movies in my last Mystery movie marathon, so I figured it was time to finish up the franchise with the final three. The action kicks off with Wong’s friend Captain Street of the San Francisco police department finding out that his friend and fellow officer Dan Grady has been pulled out of the bay. He was working on cracking a smuggling ring and paid the price. Street enlists Wong’s help in finding out who murdered his friend and finishing the work that Grady started.

We are introduced to some gangsters running illegal Chinese Jade into the country, as well as the nearly bankrupt jeweler who is trying to save his business by fencing it. The closer that Street and Wong get though the more bodies that start to pile up. Belden, the jeweler, is shot as is his son’s daughter who had ties to the gangsters. Even a seemingly random radio writer is killed in the waiting room of Streets office! But who is doing it and why? If I told you that it would ruin the mystery and the big reveal. I wouldn’t do that.

The Fatal Hour is the weakest of the Wong movies so far. I mean it isn’t terrible and does follow the familiar and entertaining formula of murder, clues, solution that I’d expect. But after a quick start the proceedings slow down with lots of irrelevant dialogue and sneaking around in the shadows. The movie is only sixty two minutes long so the amount of padding is both surprising as it is disappointing. Though after about half an hour it picks up again for the big reveal of the murderer.

The mystery itself also left me wanting more. We aren’t given many clues with the big one being revealed at the end. Even then the identity of the killer and how he committed the one crime is a big stretch. Also, with the four murders only one is difficult to pin on the killer which is the best part of movies like this. I want to see our detective explain how the impossible crime was committed and the fact that three of the four don’t fall into that category was annoying. The movie also commits the cardinal sin of keeping the motive for one of the killings vague and then tries to explain it with a throwaway line in the final scene. Come on guys you at least have to give the audience the clues and potential motives for us to play along!

The highlight of the Mr. Wong movies for most is the fact that horror legend Boris Karloff is the titular character. That also brings up the difficult conversation about a white actor playing an Asian character or as it is more commonly known “Yellowface”. I’ve had my say the last time and you can read my more detailed thoughts on it at this link. The short of it I agree with those that take issue with these movies but am unwilling to toss them in the trash and ignore them. Why? Well in the case of this series it is because Karloff is good as the character. He underplays it lurking in many scenes but always present and collecting the clues. I also enjoy that fact that he doesn’t do the pidgin English that the Chan and the Mr. Moto character (played by another legend Peter Lorre) are guilty of. Instead, we get him in all his proper British accented Queen’s English.

Ignoring the other issues, The Fatal Hour judged solely as a movie is okay. As a completist I’m glad that I watched it but would much rather check out any of the first three again before revisiting this one. The mystery isn’t as fun, the pacing is off, and again I felt a bit cheated at not being given all the facts before the killer is caught. I’ll leave you with that lukewarm recommendation.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

The Raven (1963)

When your movie begins with an actor with such a classic and iconic voice reciting Edgar Allen Poe’s the Raven, you know it is going to be good. Price is portraying Dr. Craven, a magician who is waxing poetic about his dead wife Lenore. He is interrupted by a raven tapping at his window. Turns out the bird is another magician, Dr. Bedlo (played by Peter Lorre!) who has been transmuted by yet another magician named Dr. Scarabus (played by yet another legend Boris Karloff!). Craven helps to restore Bedlo who insists on going back for round two with Scarabus. Craven wants nothing to do with this until Bedlo recognizes a portrait of his dead wife as the spitting image of a woman who was at Scarabus’ castle. 

You following me so far? Before the pair can leave some mind control shenanigans happen that convince Craven his daughter won’t be safe at home, so she needs to come with them. Also, Bedlo’s son shows up to haul him back home. The boy, Rexford, is played by a young Jack Nicholson. This movie has a hell of a cast! The four of them head to Scarabus’ castle to sort things out. Without spoiling the fun I’ll just say it leads to more magic, a spellcaster’s duel, and a fun reveal about the foibles of marriage to a less than honest lady. 

This is a great movie. I had forgotten that this was played less for horror and more for laughs. I know that Lorre was excellent at playing the drunken weasel as I’ve seen him do it many times before. But Price and Karloff have great comedic timing, especially when sharing the screen together. They are genuinely funny at times while playing straight man to Lorre’s shenanigans when that need arises. I found myself giggling and enjoying myself for the duration. Again, this isn’t my first watch, but it has been years. Still the comedy holds up and is still funny on repeated viewings. While inspired loosely by Poe’s writings the script was penned by the great Richard Matheson so the quality of the writing shouldn’t be a surprise. 

I’ve already talked about the cast a bit. Seeing Price, Lorre, and Karloff interact on screen is like watching an all star game of horror icons. There are a few movies that combine such iconic talent but none do it better than The Raven. Nicholson doesn’t have much to do other than act as a love interest, but he is good. Leo Gordon has a small supporting role, but it’s a memorable one. We even get one of the queens of early British horror, Hazel Court, as Lenore. Top all of this off with expert direction from genre legend Roger Corman and it should come as no surprise that this turned out so well. 

What else can I say? The sets are amazing and are about what I’d expect from these larger Corman produced and directed Poe “adaptations”. I use the quotations because they are only loosely based on his work most of the time. Also, the in camera tricks used to pull off the various spells might look a bit silly to a modern audience, but I loved them and for the time they were about as good as it got. 

If you haven’t seen The Raven before or if like me, it had been a while you really need to spend some time watching it. Between cast, writer, and director it simply doesn’t get better. You have a lot of talent working at the top of their collective game. 

© Copyright 2022 John Shatzer

The Crimson Cult (1968)

I pride myself on being a horror nerd but occasionally I stumble over a movie that has somehow escaped my attention. The Crimson Cult aka. Curse of the Crimson Altar is one of these. The cast includes Christopher Lee, Barbara Steele, Michael Gough, and Boris Karloff! Seriously how did I miss this one? Well one order to Kino Lorber and I have the Blu-Ray in my hands.

After a trippy set of scenes with a naked woman being whipped and Barbara Steele sitting around covered in some odd blue makeup, we meet our protagonist. Our story follows Robert Manning as he goes looking for his missing brother Peter. It seems that they are in the antique business and Peter was out looking for things to buy. After Robert gets a note pointing him towards a small town he jumps in his convertible and goes looking for his overdue sibling. One that we realize was part of that psychedelic opening scene.

When Robert arrives at the country estate where his brother was last seen he ends up in the middle of a happening party with lots of body painting, booze, and half naked ladies. Here he meets Eve who takes him to see her uncle Morley (Lee’s character). They claim that his brother never stayed at the house but not long after accepting an invitation to stay the night he finds a candlestick that matches one his brother included with the note. The rest of the movie is Robert trying to figure out what happened to Peter, dealing with the locals, and trying to bed Eve. Spoilers he does!

This is not a good movie, and I can see why I’ve never seen it pop up on my radar before. The story is uneven with several painfully slow spots. It never establishes the town, locals, and most importantly the legend of Lavinia Morley the local witch legend. This is further confused by an ending that left me wondering what the point was. Spoilers ahead. Morley was using hypnotism to make the characters have bad dreams insinuating that none of the supernatural stuff happened. Why did he do this? Someone mentions as the house is burning down that he must have been mad. That is about as good as we get. Then the movie doubles down with the characters seeing Morley turn into Lavinia… so there was a witch? This ending was confusing and was a bad ending to a mediocre movie.

Karloff is wonderful

Despite a stellar cast we spend most of the time with Manning and Eve. Now both are decent but when we have Steele, Lee, Gough, and Karloff in the cast I’d much rather be watching them. Gough is decent as a stuttering manservant to Lee’s Morley. He doesn’t get much screentime but what he does get is fun. Christopher Lee is honestly not very good in the role of Morley. Though I don’t think it was his fault as there is nothing in the story for him to sink his acting chops into. The character as written is a terrible villain as we don’t even know he is the cause until the last five minutes or so. Karloff is very frail and spends most of the movie in a wheelchair but damn is he good. He has a couple great monologues and there is a reoccurring gag about appreciating a fine brandy that had me cracking up. The guy does more acting with a look then most can do with pages of dialogue. He also gets to be the hero in the end, which was awesome. Karloff is the only reason to watch The Crimson Cult. Barbara Steele is wasted in what can be best described as a glorified cameo.

If you are a fan of Boris Karloff and haven’t seen The Crimson Cult, then you should. This is one of the best performances from the latter part of his career. In fact, it is my understanding that this was the last movie to come out while he was still alive. If that doesn’t interest you, I’d recommend skipping this one. Sadly, it was a missed opportunity to have a good time with some very well-known genre actors.

 

© Copyright 2022 John Shatzer

The Haunted Strangler (1958)

Boris Karloff stars in this movie about an author obsessed with solving the mystery of what he considers to be a man wrongly executed for murder. The movie opens with that man being executed while protesting his innocence. Twenty years later writer James Rankin, Karloff’s character, is digging into the details of the crime. This leads him to discovering that the medical assistant who did the autopsy on the executed man disappeared not long afterwards. Eventually he tracks the man to a mental hospital where he had escaped years earlier with the help of a nurse who had fallen in love with him! This leads to a missing knife that may be the key to the entire mystery. One that was probably buried with the executed man!

A bit of grave robbing later and Rankin has the missing knife. Though when he picks it up it appears he is possessed by the killer and goes on his own little killing spree. Is the knife haunted? If it is then why does it make him strangle people? Or is there something else happening? So many questions to answer but fear not because all is explained before the final credits roll.

Be warned that I can’t properly review this movie without some spoilers. If you like Karloff and want to check this out, then please do so. With that being said I’m about to get into the meat and potatoes of The Haunted Strangler. Here we go… This is one of the rare movies from Boris Karloff that I’ve never seen and I’m glad to have rectified that. I was really digging the plot and was totally invested in both the characters and story. The idea that the homicidal rage of a killer could be transferred from person to person thru an inanimate object like a knife was a neat twist. Imagine how disappointing it was when the movie abruptly changes gears in the third act!

Instead of what the audience was led to believe there is nothing supernatural going on here. Rankin is the escaped mental patient and his wife the nurse who fell in love with him. He had been repressing the memories of his former life, but they eventually came to the surface in his need to prove the innocence of the man who was hanged. Why? Well because he was the killer in that case as well! I’m not sure if it was guilt or a need to get credit for the murders but Rankin subconsciously needed to prove they punished the wrong man. When he grabs the knife he wasn’t being possessed but instead just remembered who he was. I guess that is a twist of sorts, but I was liking the other story better and I’m not sure why they felt the need to switch gears and changed lanes.

Karloff is great as he normally is. Other than Targets his might be his best performance from his later career. He is both sympathetic as well as terrifyingly evil at times. The movie was a low budget affair, so Karloff had to fall back on an old trick to make his character look different when he was the killer. He basically popped out his dentures and pulled in his cheeks, which was surprisingly effective. The rest of the cast is solid and do a decent job. But really this is Karloff’s show, and he carries the movie with his performance.

Not to beat a dead horse but I didn’t like the twist to the story. That said I think that Karloff’s performance saves The Haunted Strangler for me. He is so fun to watch that I can see myself popping this one back in for another watch. If you get the chance and want to see something different check it out. 

© Copyright 2022 John Shatzer

Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)

As I have with all the other reviews of movies like this, I’m going to direct you to my thoughts on casting white actors in Asian roles. I don’t want to keep rehashing the same discussion so this review will mostly focus on the merits or perhaps lack of them as a piece of entertainment. With that out of the way lets jump into reviewing Mr. Wong in Chinatown.

The action kicks off with a mysterious woman coming to ask for Mr. Wong’s help. But before he can speak to her she is murdered in his living room. It turns out she was the victim of a poison dart from a sleeve gun. Wong calls the police and not long after they arrive a lady reporter shows up. She recognizes the woman as a Chinese princess that just arrived in San Francisco. This leads Wong to a twisted web of theft, lies, double crosses, and murder. You see she was in America looking to buy airplanes to smuggle out of the country to her brother’s army. This sketchy business attracted the attention of criminals who took advantage of her.

Does this sound familiar? Well damn it the Mr. Wong franchise got me again… sort of. If you remember my earlier review for The Mystery of Mr. Wong they had lifted that plot from an earlier movie, Murder at Midnight. A movie that I had just reviewed for the site! Here it is the other way around and this movie was remade as a Charlie Chan flick, The Chinese Ring, which I’ve also justcovered for the site! I hope this doesn’t keep happening, but with these quickie low budget movies it is a possibility.

I liked the story in the Chinese Ring and that was apparently almost a shot for shot remake of this one. There are a few differences that I appreciated about Mr. Wong in Chinatown. First is that instead of the villainous ships captain being Chinese here he is an American. It makes me wonder why the later Chan movie changed it. The idea of the Chinese trying to purchase war materials secretly makes a lot more sense in the world of thirty-nine then it does in forty-seven. For those that aren’t history nerds they were fighting the Japanese and by the time this was remade the war was over. Yeah, I notice things like that.

Karloff is a much better lead. His performance is subdued but interesting. He doesn’t need the comic relief and can carry the movie all on his own. It is also even more obvious with this being remade eight years later as a Chan flick that Karloff doesn’t attempt to use a stilted accent, nor does he spout off proverbs. Instead, you have a respectful portrayal with his normal voice and delivery. Not an excuse but I do want to acknowledge the attempt at not being as offensive. We also get a fun appearance from a familiar little person in the role as a mute witness who ends up on the wrong side of the criminals.

The killer’s identity, the double crosses, and Karloff’s performance makes this a movie worth tracking down. Like the other Mr. Wong flicks this is in the public domain and can be found easily both on DVD as well as the internet. I think it is worth checking out.

 

© Copyright 2022 John Shatzer

The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939)

Before we begin, I wanted to direct you to my thoughts on the controversy of white actors being cast in the role of Asian characters and the issues that arise from it. I realized that I’m going to be covering a lot of movies like this one and the Charlie Chan franchise so instead of having each of those reviews dominated by that discussion it was better to hash it out once here instead. The below is just judging the movie as a movie and not delving too deeply into other obvious issues.

Karloff is back as Chinese detective Mr. Wong. This time he gets involved in the murder of an antiquities collector who has recently come into possession of The Eye of the Daughter of the Moon, a rare gem from China that is supposedly cursed. Wong is called in because the collector has had death threats, which come true when he is killed by a gun that was supposed to be loaded with blanks. They were playing charades, which I guess is different from what we know as charades today. Instead, they were acting out a play of sorts with a husband finding his wife cheating on him… hey wait a minute! Yeah, this is a loose remake of Murderat Midnight that I recently watched and covered for the site.

Wong must sort out who killed the collector, and later his maid. There are some twists and turns with a missing letter in which the man speculated at who was trying to kill him and why. There are also those trying to return the stolen gem back to China where it belongs, and finally a wife who was made rather miserable by the man. So many suspects and so little time. Though in the end Wong assembles them and reveals the killer.

This is another solid movie. Though I was a bit disappointed when I realized it was a remake and not an original story. That sort of spoiled the fun because while they made changes to adapt it to the Wong character, they didn’t change the mystery much itself. This includes the identity of the murderer, though his motives have changed. That took a lot of the fun out of the proceedings for me. That said the story is interesting, the action fast paced, and the motives/methods of the killer plausible. So, if you haven’t seen Murder at Midnight yet I think that this will be a fun flick that you will get a kick out of.

As before Karloff is very good in the role of Mr. Wong. Again, the idea of casting him as an Asian character is problematic but he does his best to avoid the pitfalls of speaking in the heavily accented and stereotypical Asian accent. That lessens the blow a bit. He commands every scene he is in and is surrounded by a decent supporting cast. This movie was from a “B” studio, so the budget was low again, but this sort of formulaic movie doesn’t require much in the way of sets and locations beyond the basics.

I’m going to recommend The Mystery of Mr. Wong. It is a straightforward and fun little murder mystery on a budget that knows what the audience wants and delivers the goods. Karloff is great and fun to see on the screen and if you pay close attention to what is transpiring on screen you have a decent chance to figure it out before the big reveal. I hoe the other four are originals or at least based on something that I’ve not already seen.

 

© Copyright 2022 John Shatzer

Mr. Wong Detective (1938)

With the success of the Charlie Chan movies, which I will be covering in this marathon, other studios went looking for their own Chinese detectives. Mr. Wong was one of those and is most notable for the actor cast in the main role, genre legend Boris Karloff! Before I continue if you haven’t already checked out my thoughts on this as well as the Mr. Moto and Charlie Chan movies unfortunate use of “yellow face” then click this link. These reviews are only going to address the movie’s merits and whether it is worth checking out and not the political stuff. 

The action starts off at a dock where a ship is being loaded for a journey. We see some sketchy looking characters are watching this and we get some talk about if the shipment goes their cause is doomed. Later we find out that the ship is full of chemicals to make deadly nerve gas and is being sent to a government that will use it against their citizens. The man who co-owns the company with three partners, Mr. Dayton, comes to see our detective. He believes his life is in danger and asks for his help. Mr. Wong comes to see him the next day in the office to look at the threatening letter he received but Dayton is dead before he arrives. 

The rest of the movie is Wong trying to figure out who killed and is continuing to kill the men involved in the chemical company. In addition to the people trying to stop the shipment, we get the other partners, and a chemist whose formula was stolen by the company as suspects. Who did it and how was it managed? I’m not going to spoil the fun because I think you should check out Mr. Wong Detective yourself. 

This is an excellent movie with a mystery that is easy to follow but keeps you guessing until the end. The bit with the glass balls and poison gas is nifty and satisfying without being overly complicated. The way that the killings are executed feel realistic and clever. The movie gives you plenty of red herrings before dropping a twist that works well. I must keep this vague as to not spoil it but trust me if you like murder mysteries you will dig it. The movie is paced well and keeps the action moving until the final reveal. The dialogue is snappy and deliberate, which is a must if you are to follow the story and try to discover the clues. The filmmakers knew how to make a good mystery movie. 

The characters are likeable for the most part with Karloff being the highlight. Clearly there are issues with a white actor playing an Asian character, but he still is very good in the role. Though I found it interesting that instead of the accented and stereotypical speech present in the Charlie Chan movies he decides to use his normal British accent. There are a couple of points where the movies low budget is obvious, but that didn’t spoil the fun for me. A good example is that we only get a couple of sets that they keep returning to, but had I not pointed that out you probably wouldn’t have noticed. 

There are six movies in the Mr. Wong franchise, and I’ve only ever seen this one before. I plan on covering them all eventually and I hope that they all are as much fun as Mr. Wong Detective. I highly recommend checking this one out. 

© Copyright 2022 John Shatzer

You’ll Find Out (1940)

This looked interesting and I thought it was just another low budget movie from the “Poverty Row” studios that made quickie movies all thru the thirties and forties. I hadn’t heard of the star of the movie, Kay Kyser, but when I noticed some of the other cast, I got very excited about it. We get Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff together for the first and only time. This is one heck of a collection of genre actors!

Kay Kyser is playing himself, a band leader that has some comedy bits mixed in his act to entertain the audience. His band, and that is how they are billed here, is hired to play a young woman’s twenty first birthday party. It is to take place at her aunt’s estate, which is of course a creepy old house in the middle of nowhere. We also find out that she thinks someone has been trying to kill her after she is nearly run down by a car. Something sketchy is definitely going on. They arrive at the house as a big storm blows in. Not long after their arrival the bridge blows up stranding them and the other guests at the house. More attempts are made to kill the young lady, secret passages and hidden doors are found. Bad guys are revealed, and music is made. Lots of music…

This isn’t a great movie. There is a lot of time spent watching the band do their act. I think there were five or six musical numbers, which was far too many for my taste. Though I understand that the movie was a vehicle for Kay Kyser who was I suppose very popular at the time. I can’t blame them for giving the audience at the time what they expected. We also get to see him try his hand at comedy, which isn’t very good. This clearly wasn’t Kyser’s thing and his hijinks as the band leader don’t translate well to the screen. They also used gags from what I think must have been their stage act and feature a couple of the horn section players as well. None of it played well with me. Maybe I’m spoiled by the Bowery Boys, Abbott and Costello, and of course the Three Stooges. But the timing and execution of the gags wasn’t great. 

These guys were awesome!

Where the movie is at its best is when the big three of Lugosi, Lorre, and Karloff are on screen. They don’t get a lot of scenes together, but when they do it is gold. Karloff is especially good as the family friend who we find out early is the bad guy. Yeah, this movie reveals what is going on far too early and ruins any actual mystery that might have been. Still three genre legends sharing the screen is a lot of fun to watch. There is one scene in particular where you can see the chemistry and magic of Lorre and Karloff going back and forth. Unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of this and that was a bummer. 

I wouldn’t consider this a recommendation. The movie has a lot of pacing issues as it just stops for musical numbers too often. This kills any momentum and makes for a bit of a boring viewing experience. I also just didn’t like the attempts at comedy from Kyser and his band. They just aren’t funny. I do dig the performances from the horror icons, but they aren’t on screen enough to save You’ll Find Out. The only reason to watch this is if you have the overwhelming need to see as many of these actor’s movies as possible. Then it might be worth a single watch. 

© Copyright 2022 John Shatzer

The Body Snatcher (1945)

This is one of the Val Lewton produced classic horror movies for RKO Pictures. It stars some familiar horror legends and is based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Oh, and it was directed by the legendary Robert Wise. I love this movie and was looking forward to watching it for review.

The story is set in a time where medical schools couldn’t get enough bodies to teach their students anatomy. So here the doctor, MacFarlane, is forced to work with an unsavory cabbie played by Boris Karloff. He does some graverobbing on the side and provides the resources necessary for the school to continue. When a little girl is brought in for a consultation MacFarlane uses the excuse that he doesn’t have a body to practice on to deny her a lifesaving but complicated procedure. This bothers his assistant who asks the cabbie for help. Since the graveyards are being guarded, he has to acquire it another way. Yeah, he kills a lady and collects his fee!

The doctors know what happened but are stuck because if the cabbie goes down so do they. That doesn’t stop another worker at the school, played by Bela Lugosi, from trying to blackmail Karloff’s character. I did say there was some talent here, didn’t I? More murder happens with some madness or perhaps supernatural revenge tossed in at the end for fun.

This is a fantastic creepy old horror movie. Karloff is amazing as the cabbie, Gray, being at times menacing and at others tender. He seems to genuinely like the little girl and when he finds out MacFarlane is refusing to help her uses his leverage to change his mind. He also kills somebody so they can practice before trying to help her. Yeah, he might be a bad guy, but he has a soft spot for the little girl. Karloff is such a great actor that this odd dichotomy of character makes sense. He makes you believe that Gray has those sides to his personality.

Another excellent performance is that of Lugosi. His part is much smaller, but he does shine when he goes to blackmail Karloff. The two of them share drinks in front of a fire with the back and forth between is a thing to behold. These guys are well into their careers and were wonderful actors so seeing them bounce dialogue off one another was a pleasure. We also have Henry Daniell, as MacFarlane. He was a working actor that appeared in almost a hundred projects. I know him best for an old Sherlock Holmes movie as well as one of the Charlie Chan flicks. But you all might remember him from The Four Skulls of Jonathon Drake. Again, there was a lot of talent on the screen.

The actors are only helped by an excellent script and direction from Robert Wise. He would go on to make movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Andromeda Strain, and my personal favorite The Haunting. He keeps the action moving while still letting the actors do their job and create characters we can both root for and against. The cinematography is also outstanding and is gorgeous. Honestly there is nothing quite like a gothic black and white horror movie. The lighting creates all these creepy shadows and in the dramatic finale we also get lightning that reveals and then quickly hides some very important action.

I could keep going on but that would feel like I’m beating a dead horse. The Body Snatcher is a must see for anyone that is interested in older horror movies. I know that the Universal flicks are much better known but these Lewton produced RKO flicks are worth a look as well. I highly recommend this one and plan to cover more of them soon.

 

© Copyright 2021 John Shatzer

The Man with Nine Lives (1940)

I recently realized that I hadn’t been paying as much attention to the classics that I used to. I’m a big fan of horror from the thirties, forties, and fifties. Karloff, Price, Chaney, and Lugosi are favorites of mine. It has been way too long since I’ve covered them here at the site and I figured it was about time for me to correct that. Why not start off with this little seen but fun flick starring the great Boris Karloff.

The movie kicks off with a doctor, Mason, showing off his latest procedure. He has found a way to freeze and then revive people. This is a big deal because while frozen the people can heal terrible injuries and diseases. His research is based upon a book by Dr. Kravaal who mysteriously disappeared after writing it. The hospital administrators aren’t happy with the publicity that Mason has been generating with his experiments and decide to send him on a forced vacation while they have other researchers verify his results.

Mason and his nurse, Judith, decide to spend their time off looking into what happened to Kravaal. This leads them to an isolated house and the discovery that Kravaal has ended up frozen for over ten years. Also frozen with him are a group of men that we discover thru a flashback had been investigating Kravaal and a patient he was treating. Things go sideways on them and they all end up in the deep freeze for a decade. The length of time is a big deal since it is far beyond what they have been able to do previously. The formula for the solution that allows this is lost thru some shenanigans and the good doctor decides he must start experimenting on the survivors to recreate it for the good of mankind. This leaves Mason and Judith to stand by helplessly as Kravaal goes about his work.

This is an excellent movie. Karloff plays Kravaal with a degree of kindness that belies the fact he is straight up murdering people to try and recreate the formula that will finish his life’s work. There is no over the top cackling here as he instead seems quite sad by what he feels must be done. This is yet another example of Karloff showing a great deal of respect to the genre and taking his part seriously. No matter how poorly written or minuscule the budget was he always gave it his best and with The Man with Nine Lives it helps make what is a decent movie into a great one. The rest of the cast is made up of actors that I have seen before in supporting roles. While not household names they were all solid working professionals that know what is expected of them and deliver the goods.

Karloff is so good in this movie!

The story is solid and follows many of the tropes involved in a traditional mad scientist flick. You have the well-meaning but misguided genius who is far ahead of his time. There are the characters who don’t understand and thru their ignorance make the situation worse. We also get the requisite outsider who can act as a proxy for the audience helplessly watching things play out. All of this is wrapped in a tight seventy-four-minute runtime that gets to the good stuff and never lets up. Combined with the outstanding performance from Karloff this makes for a wonderful way to spend an evening.

The sets are simple but effective. Most of the story takes place in Kravaal’s underground lab. This consists of a couple small rooms and the ice chamber where he freezes his experimental subjects. I liked the look of the movie as they light it very dark and make great use of the shadows. They also pull off the trick of making it appear as if the room is light by the oil lamps and fireplace. I might just be an old guy here, but nothing is quite as atmospheric and creepy as an old black and white movie done right. The Man with Nine Lives is a perfect example of this.

I have nothing bad to say about this movie. When you mention Karloff, everyone thinks about his performance as the Frankenstein’s Monster, and his later non creature roles in the classic Universal Movies. The guy was so much more than that with a lot of his best work coming in films like this one. It is easy to find and worth checking out. I highly recommend The Man with Nine Lives.

© Copyright 2020 John Shatzer

Road Trip to the Canton Palace Theater – Monster Bash

I’ve returned to the Palace Theater for another event, this time around it was for Monster Bash. If you haven’t read my write up for the Twilight Zone Fest the Palace is a historic theater located in downtown Canton. I’ve attended many events there but this is only the second time that I’ve written it up for the horror dude blog. It is a great place to see a movie, especially an old one. Which brings me to the festivities.

Monster Bash took over the Palace for a unique event. All eight classic Universal Frankenstein movies in order over two days. Four on Friday night and four on Saturday. As an added bonus the lobby, both upstairs and downstairs, was packed with vendors. This soon after Cinema Wasteland you wouldn’t think that there would be much for me to purchase, but you would be wrong. Let me kick things off with Friday.

Friday was a beautiful Fall day, nice and warm until it got dark and chilly. This is the perfect combination for October. It felt like the work day would never end, but finally I looked up and it was time to jump in the car and head to the event. I was interested in what vendors would show up as I knew there would be time for spending money between screenings. As it turned out there were some people I didn’t recognize and a couple that I did. Of course, Creepy Classics (I think they run Monster Bash) and local horror host Son of Ghoul were there. But before I went shopping I had movies to watch.

Again, they played them in order so the first movie on Friday was 1931’s Frankenstein. I’m going to assume if you are here at the horror dude blog you have likely seen these classic Universal monster movies before. But just in case you haven’t… Dr. Frankenstein decides to play God and bring life to a creature made out of body parts. Things go badly when his assistant gets the brain of a violent criminal which makes the creature not turn out so well. Karloff is brilliant, especially in the scene where he is playing with the little girl. He brings an innocence to the creature that is necessary for the movie to work. If you don’t feel a little bad for the monster then the story loses some emotional impact.

Next was Bride of Frankenstein from 1935. Karloff is back as the creature in what is an even better movie than the first. This is one of the few times in cinematic history that a sequel has exceeded the original. Here Karloff is allowed to speak as the monster has begun to acquire language skills. The theme of Bride is that he is lonely and keeps searching for a companion. This leads to the monster and another scientist forcing Frankenstein back into the lab. But when that doesn’t work out the creature allows the newlyweds (the good doctor has recently been married) to leave while destroying himself and his bride.

Son of Frankenstein followed in 1939. This was Karloff’s last appearance as the creature on the big screen, though not his last in the series. I’ve always been disappointed in Son because the monster doesn’t speak. Why would they ditch one of the highlights of Bride and something that allowed Karloff to bring more life to the character? I’ve always wondered if this is what finally caused him to stop portraying the monster. We do get an awesome performance by Bela Lugosi as Ygor, the manipulative hunchback that uses the creature to better his own lot in life. Also, if you are a fan of Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein this is the movie for you. Many of the characters from that movie were the inspiration for his comedic take on the legendary franchise.

The last show of the day was Ghost of Frankenstein from 1942. For the first and only time Lon Chaney Jr. plays the creature. Honestly this also marks the point where the Frankenstein monster becomes nothing more than a plot point for the other characters and creatures to play off of. Chaney mugs for the camera and does his best Karloff impersonation but the life is out of the monster, pun intended! Lugosi is back as Ygor, who manages to survive the hail of bullets that should have killed him in Son of Frankenstein. He is amazing again in the role. We also get some brain swapping fun for what is an overall decent movie. Not as great as Bride, but better than what will be coming later.

After the last screening, the Monster Bash staff did the prize toss. This is a tradition at their events where the staff tosses a bunch of free stuff into the audience. I did pretty good with some plastic cups and a cool zombie Halloween decoration that is now in my car. I also did some shopping picking up some Blu-Rays, a DVD, and a couple of t-shirts. The highlight for me was grabbing one of the MGM Midnite Movie double features I didn’t own, Beast Within and Bat People. I also got the Blu-Ray of Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. That was it for Friday night. I headed home to get some sleep and be back the next day at 3 p.m. for more classic Universal fun.

I’m old so it was good that Saturday didn’t start until later. I need my sleep! I did arrive as the first movie was starting. Frankenstein meets the Wolfman, made in 1943, marks the one and only time that Bela Lugosi played the monster. He and Chaney Jr. switched things up since the Wolfman is Chaney’s signature role and Ygor was dead this time. Of the four men who played the monster in the classic Universal movies Lugosi was by far the worst. He is barely on screen except to fight the Wolfman. When he is onscreen there is little to see as he lumbers and growls, but not much else. Again, the Frankenstein monster is reduced to minor character in spite of his name being in the title! In my opinion, this is the second weakest of the Universal Frankenstein movies.

In between shows they had live organ music

The next movie was from 1944, House of Frankenstein. This one is notable for a couple of reasons. First this was Glen Strange’s first appearance as the monster and second it is Karloff’s return to franchise. Karloff is great as a mad scientist trying to continue Frankenstein’s research and perfect the monster so it can get him some revenge. Along the way he meets Dracula and ditches him on the road with some villagers in pursuit. Dracula just can’t help himself when it comes to the ladies! This would seem like a perfect chance for Lugosi to return, but instead we get John Carradine as Dracula. No disrespect meant but it just isn’t the same. Lon Chaney Jr. was back as the Wolfman and we do get a good monster fight at the end.

1945’s House of Dracula was next up. Again, Universal puts a monster’s name in the title and then quickly kills it off. There is also no Karloff mad scientist. While we do get Lon Chaney as the Wolfman there isn’t a monster fight at the end. By the time the locals show up Chaney’s character has been cured and is running away with his love interest as the Frankenstein monster burns up yet again! This movie is my least favorite and disappoints every time that I watch it. I wanted the monsters to fight!

Finally, we get to the movie that I’ve been looking forward to since they announced Monster Bash at the Palace. Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. The only thing I might love more than the Universal monsters is Abbott and Costello. These guys are incredibly funny and it was pure genius teaming them up in these “meets” movies. The best of which has to be meets Frankenstein. If that wasn’t enough to love this is also the second and last time that Bela Lugosi would appear as Dracula. Seriously they never let him play the character between the original classic and this last hurrah of the first wave of Universal monster movies. The movie is great, has a lot of laughs, the monsters look cool, and unlike House of Dracula we get monsters fighting in the finale. This includes the Wolfman vs Dracula! I love this movie and it was an amazing way to end Saturday. Plus my man Vincent Price makes a small cameo of sorts.

I did some shopping and picked up a couple of Blu-Rays during intermission. Nothing of note, just filling in some Amicus holes in my collection. Looked for some t-shirts, but sadly they had none that would fit the fat man (which is me!). I was also bummed to see that Son of Ghoul wasn’t there on Saturday as his table is always full of great things to impulse purchase.

Monster Bash was a great time and I’m so glad the guys at Creepy Classics and the Palace Theater made it happen. They said that they would be back next year. If you do come back I’ll be in the audience watching whatever awesomeness you decide to show. For more about Monster Bash and their summer show check them out here. To see what other fun the Canton Palace is up to including the Three Stooges Marathon in November check out their website here.

© Copyright 2017 John Shatzer