HUDSON’S BAY (1941): Paul Muni Has Some Fun For A Change
Paul Muni (1895-1967) was always an “actor’s actor”. After a decade of playing increasingly serious roles for Warner Brothers, the last few of a biographical nature (Louis Pasteur, Emile Zola, Benito Juarez), he was obviously delighted when 20th Century-Fox offered him the lead in HUDSON’S BAY (1941). This time he would play another historical character, that…
JERICHO OF SCOTLAND YARD (2005): Period Brit Crime Drama Bites Off More Than It Can Chew
I normally don’t write reviews of TV shows but JERICHO OF SCOTLAND YARD piqued my interest. First of all it isn’t a TV series (which I thought it was until I watched it) but a 4 part miniseries concerning the exploits of a troubled Scotland Yard detective and his 2 associates who become involved in a…
MALPERTUIS (1971): Read The Book Instead
While it is admirable that director Harry Kumel (DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS) wanted to make a film out of fellow Belgian writer Jean Ray’s book MALPERTUIS (HOUSE OF EVIL in English), I’m not sure that it’s possible to do justice to Ray’s magnum opus. That’s certainly the case here as this 1971 movie ended up pretty…
TREAD SOFTLY (1952): Brit Mystery/Musical Is A Quaint Look At Both Genres
Let me say at the start that while TREAD SOFTLY (1952) is not a very good movie, it is an endearing one depending on your taste for backstage musicals, classic whodunits, and British B movies. All three of those factor into TREAD SOFTLY. The basic plot is lifted from 42ND STREET (1933) where the star…
LEGEND OF THE MUMMY (1997): Better Than Most Of The Reviews
Most of the reviews I have read concerning this movie trash it without reservations. I found it to be a lot better than those reviews indicated especially if you are familiar with the source material which is Bram Stoker’s 1903 novel THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS. I first saw the film before those reviews were…
THE AWAKENING (1980): Why So Serious?
Mention the name Bram Stoker and everyone thinks DRACULA. There are a few other novels such as THE LADY OF THE SHROUD and THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM (made into a movie by Ken Russell with Hugh Grant in 1988) and a series of superior short stories like THE JUDGE’S HOUSE and THE BURIAL…
BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971): The Best Version Of Bram Stoker’s THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS
Bram Stoker’s THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS was one of my favorite horror novels when I was younger. I first read it at 15 and couldn’t get it out of my head for weeks. I even preferred it to DRACULA (still do and I still have my original 1968 paperback). When BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S…
DR RENAULT’S SECRET (1942): Rare B Horror Movie From Twentieth Century-Fox Is Moody & Stylish
When classic horror fans think of 1940s B horror movies, the last studio that comes to mind is 20th Century-Fox. In fact B movies of any kind were a Fox rarity so it was quite a surprise when in 1942 they decided to make not one but two movies which would be companion pieces for a…
THE TROLLENBERG TERROR / THE CRAWLING EYE (1958): Pretty Good 1950’s Brit Sci-Fi
Having been successful with their Gothic horror film BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE, Robert S. Baker & Monty Berman next attempted to produce a black & white science fiction movie patterned after Hammer’s QUATERMASS series. Those movies dealt with alien invasions from outer space and how they were successfully thwarted. Once again they hired Hammer freelance…
THE PHANTOM SHIP (1935): Bela Lugosi Meets Hammer Films
Although they are renowned today for the series of horror films made between 1954 and 1976, Hammer Films actually got their start back in the 1930s. They only made a few films before going on hiatus until after World War II when they reemerged with a series of low budget film noirs before embarking on…
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