The Omega Man - 1971 - 6/10
Second adaptation of Matheson’s “I Am Legend”.
Following a global biological war, humans are down to survivors and mutants.
Dr. Neville has developed a vaccine, but the albino mutants ain’t buying it.
Luddites to the core, probably insane, technology has to go, as do any cures.
Heston is resourceful at keeping them at bay … for awhile.
There are logic holes, yet the suspense and pacing keep you riveted to the proceedings.
The Lady From Shanghai - 1947 - 6/10
A sucker born every minute.
Irish seaman O’Hara takes a shine to blonde beauty Elsa.
She is married, but her husband is much older and a cripple.
He hires on as mate on their yacht, and is soon involved in murder.
Plot is hardly a mess, yet it is confusing.
Partly by Welles’ design, partly because much was cut, reshot and reedited.
Droll humor will be lost to many; it is key to appreciating.
Much of the film was shot on Errol Flynn’s yacht, the Zaca.
Mrs. Biggs - 2012 - 6/10
Mrs. Ronnie Biggs, longest refugee from justice for the 1963 Great Train Robbery.
Powerful acting by Sheridan Smith and Daniel Mays boost this greatly.
Ronnie, cheap crook, petty soul, gets into a whirlwind affair with Charmian.
Marriage, children, and the desire for “nice things” which they can ill afford.
The heist is well thought out and meticulously shown.
There are too many men in the heist, though. More men, greater chance of a weak link.
Caper is just one episode, followed by years on the run, evading, separate lives.
Aside from seeing clips of Biggs rollicking on the Rio beaches over the years, I knew little about this.
The real Charmian Biggs assisted in the script, so one hopes this is somewhat accurate.
Wolfen - 1981 - 6/10
Murders splash across Manhattan penthouses and rubbled Bronx tenements.
One might think random serial killer or spree killer, yet detective finds himself drawn into myth.
Legends from when New York was a native tribal area.
Of early Dutch settlements. Of beasts that still pad their territory.
Wolves, werewolves. Part slasher / part thriller. Add police procedural, surveillance and Capitalism.
Albert Finney and Gregory Hines make a great team.
Michael (“Woodstock”) Wadleigh’s rough cut – preferred cut – director’s cut remains unseen.
Mädchen In Uniform - 1931 - 6/10
14-year-old Manuela is sent to the strict girls school.
Mother dead, father away soldiering, her aunt just cannot be bothered.
The school scrimps on meals, confiscates any incoming food, and is harsh with punishment.
Not the nightmare that was Diary Of A Lost Girl, yet it is unpleasant.
The girls are a gregarious bunch, and teacher Fraulein Von Bernburg is adored by all.
In fact, Manuela soon develops a crush on the woman which leads to consequences.
Although viewed as a lesbian film (and there are overtones), these are young girls, desperate for affection.
The Spider Woman - 1944 - 6/10
Following a series of strange suicides, Sherlock Holmes fakes his own death.
The victims were men, short of cash, and inveterate gamblers.
When they lose everything, they check out.
Holmes soon zeroes in on one Adrea Spedding, adventuress.
This Sherlock film is a patchwork of several Doyle stories.
Best, however, is Gale Sondergaard as the “female Moriarty”, although she more resembles Madame Sara (“The Sorceress Of The Strand” by L. T. Meade).
The Last Edition - 1925 - 6/10
Wonderful Silent melodrama, filmed in and around San Francisco.
The McDonald family strikes the heights, suffers the blows.
Pa, expecting a promotion at the newspaper, is bumped for young blood.
Junior joins the District Attorney, where he is green and trusting.
The Chronicle tries to stay relevant, wile bootleggers protect their turf.
Most of the actors rely on facial expressions, subtle and quick, to help viewers.
No great shakes, but entertaining.
Note: In several scenes, workers gab or listen while the presses are rolling. That’s impossible. I was a paperboy; when those presses roll, the noise is deafening.
The Music Of Erich Zann - 1980 - 6/10
One of the earlier HPL adaptations, this evokes rather than shows or tells.
A student, Charles Dexter Ward, takes rooms below a mute violinist.
The music haunts him, and he tries to befriend the elderly musician.
And yet a gulf separates them, for one has committed blasphemy.
Effective short gives a nice sense of the other-worldliness of the tale.
Stuart Schiff (“Whispers”) had recommended this decades ago.
The Quiet One - 2019 - 6/10
Bill Wyman … bass guitar. Member of a small British blues group.
The band had a few hits.
Wyman was always known as the Stones’ historian, archivist, diarist, keeper of the lore.
His thick, coffee table book, “Rolling With The Stones” is jammed with photos and memorabilia.
The narrative chronology in this is spot on, accompanying visuals less so.
Nonetheless, this is a lot of fun, and a must for Stones fans.
Excellent companion to 2023’s The Stones And Brian Jones.
Shoot, watch that first, then this!
The Other Woman’s Story - 1925 - 6/10
The accused’s perhaps love interest
He is charged with murdering his wife’s divorce attorney.
Curious Silent film, set mostly in the courthouse, observes several witnesses.
Testimonies conflict, or don’t make sense, or they subsequently “correct” them.
Viewers, like jurors, must sift before the verdict.
Mind you, revelations and a hurried search arrives at the end.
Beautifully restored by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
The Other Woman - 1954 - 6/10
Studio hanger-on is given her lucky break for exposure.
A walk-on. Three lines. Which she bungles. Badly. Three times.
Too bad. She’s nervous, and not much of an actress.
No matter, it’s not her fault! It’s the director who gave her the chance. Yeah!
Sherry decides to get revenge, wreck his career, his marriage.
Trashy Noir from indie auteur Hugo Haas.
Has its moments, and Cleo Moore shines as the acid drenched vixen.
Audra McDonald At The London Palladium - 2023 - 8/10
Spellbinding performance of one of our era’s greatest sopranos, literally at the top of her game.
At 52, she remains fearless, unafraid to chase after those high notes, nail them, then hold them.
(I cannot tell you how many concerts I have attended where the singer quits, or doesn’t try.)
This is an uplifting and soul-affirming show; a tonic against the one-note vitriol from our daily prophets of hated.
Hatred for the other, hatred of themselves, and of course, hatred for you and I.
♪ No use permitting some prophet of doom ♪
♪ To wipe every smile away ♪
Catch this, and push yourself back into the Parade.
Dracula’s Daughter - 1935 - 6/10
After his death by Van Helsing, Dracula’s corpse is stolen by his daughter, Countess Marya.
A vampire herself, she hopes that by burning his body, she will lose her vampirism.
When that fails, she returns to hunting victims. Female victims.
Gloria Holden makes a chilly countess, and the role seems closer to Carmilla.
Typical of the era, marvelous Gothic sets.
The lesbian undercurrent, how did that slip past the censors?
Nevertheless, this is a melancholy story of a depressed and lonely soul.
Theatre Of Blood - 1973 - 6/10
After critics, once again, savage hammy Shakespearean actor Edward Lionhart, the player commits suicide.
Not so fast! He is rescued in the Thames, and a few years later, incognito, he is back for revenge.
Directed at whom? The critics, of course!
Vincent Price has a field day in this especially bloody comedy.
There is an edge in this, as each victim receives an inventive Shakespeare themed demise.
Stellar cast includes Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Jack Hawkins, Michael Horden, Diana Dors, Robert Morley …
Filmed, I believe, in a vacant theatre.
Oh, for a behind the scenes documentary, and to hear cast members carry on.
Night Nurse - 1931 - 7/10
Night emergency is what nurses Lora and Malonney are assigned after breaking curfew.
Late night means crazies, gun wounds, and underworld characters.
The hospital setting is shown to be extraordinarily lacking, which would change after the Code came in.
Stanwyck and Blondell are nurse chums, both assets are on display, rude jokes, crass behavior.
More? Clark Gable as a thuggish chauffeur. Drug addiction, children in peril, skimpy lingerie.
Not quite Baby Face (1933), but this remains a wild film.
Essential Pre-Code gem, and one that roused the decency crowd and led to the Production Code.
Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark - 1973 - 6/10
After grandma dies, Sally inherits the big house.
She moves in with her husband, a social-climbing lawyer.
The caretaker warns Sally to leave certain things alone.
Since she possess the DNA of Pandora, Sally soon chips away a sealed area.
And releases house demons that had been imprisoned.
Or is this all in her mind?
Slow boil horror yields shocks for the very, very patient.
Kim Darby effective as the grating Sally.
In The Bleak Midwinter - 1995 - 6/10
The rep group decides to tackle “Hamlet”.
Venue, an abandoned church, awaiting demolition.
The actors, a scattered tribe of six, dislike each other, and fear the worst, knowing there is no money.
No matter, in the spirit of “the show must go on” they rehearse, experiment, and find their characters.
A lot of time is spent on personalities and personal dramas.
Will they learn to get along, coalesce as a troupe (this is movie, friend).
By the end, however, the plot is absolutely crackling.
Indeed, while I dislike “Hamlet”, I wanted to see their version of the Dane, set during the 1920’s.
The Vikings - 1958 - 6/10
Unbeknownst to each other, heir apparent Einar and slave Eric are half brothers.
The Viking and English blood ties are muddled, as is the plot in this.
Very much a live action cartoon of battles, betrayals and blood.
Plenty of dismemberment in this (one wonders how many times George Lucas saw as a child).
Location filming boosts the look. Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh were still in love at this time.
Best, however, is Kirk Douglas as the seething Einar.
Memorable theme, as well as the final storming of the battlements using axes.
Am I the only one who sees a homo-erotic element in this film?
The Dentist - 1932 - 7/10
Over-protective father vents his anger and frustration upon his patients.
The girl desires to marry the man who delvers ice – certainly a long term career.
Patients who arrive in anxiety find their worst fears confirmed.
Those more laissez faire, do better. The Bolshevik and long-legged contortionist stand out.
In the middle of treatment, he takes off to play golf.
For those who have sat for hours in a medical waiting room – wondering – this has your name on it.
The Fatal Glass Of Beer - 1933 - 6/10
“And it ain’t a fit night out for man or beast.”
Boosh!
Ma and Pa endure harsh winters in the Yukon.
On occasion, Pa ventures out of their rough cabin to milk the elk.
The tragedy of the family, is son Chester, in the Canadian prison.
Extremely funny Bill Fields satire on Vaudeville melodramas, popular a generation earlier, and outdoor adventures.
Candy Stripe Nurses - 1974 - 5/10
“Oh, you mean the Sex Clinic. To your left.”
The girls are not nurses, they are volunteers who seem to specialize in pleasing select patients.
One deals with a college jock taking amphetamines.
One tries to bag a has-been rock star.
The third plays a dangerous game of detective, trying to clear a patient’s name.
Roger Corman production exposes lots of skin, and adds plots akin to TV of the day.
This ain’t much, although the ladies are attractive.
Interesting moment during the basketball game when I recognized the Matadors.
My, God, my alma mater, I realized. Odd moment.
The Black Vampire - 1953 - 6/10
AKA - El Vampiro Negro
No bats, no bloodsuckers in this imaginatively shot Argentinian Noir.
Another child victim surfaces, and the police arrest the man who finds the body and notifies them.
The cops know he is innocent, yet public panic surges as more children are killed.
Innovative retelling of M, adds a low-life nightclub, possibly dealing narcotics.
Chief prosecutor is inflexible and self-righteous, not one for leniency or compassion.
The Underworld in this outing is the Subterranean world: homeless, castoffs, scavengers, beggars.
One cam view this for the cinematography alone.
Susie Q, Where Are You! - 2022 - 6/10
Susie disappears during a midnight swim in the swamp.
Straight off, I’m thinking gators, but I’m Southern.
Two months later, dating couples Deb and Russ, and Kim and Danny, are returning home from the drive-in.
Hey, lets swing by the swamp and Crazy Old Man Coombs, and find Susie.
Few scares, comedy is labored and mostly dumb jokes.
May work better depending on how many Scooby Snacks you chomp, or how many huffs.
Possibly good opener before the slasher feature.
Session 9 - 2001 - 6/10
Deemed “historic”, the sprawling mental hospital, closed for decades, is permeated with asbestos.
The five-man crew bids low, and promises they can be finished in one week.
From day one, the men are arguing and tensions simmering.
Memories begin to surface, too. Buried, or seeping in from the haunted compound.
There are hints of the supernatural, along with suggestions of abuse.
Several of the men seem to have agendas, and increasingly unlock the hidden.
For better or for worse, the shift to psychological terror gains traction midway.
Murder In The Dark - 2024 - 6/10
An accident in a rural road leaves five passengers stranded in an isolated farm.
The aging, has-been pop star and his 20 year old girlfriend.
His brother, his ex, and his son, who he has ignored, only now junior is climbing the pop charts.
The new generation rocking the old.
Stuck inside, no WiFi, spotty electricity, the members begin raking up past sins.
Oh, yes, there is also the farmer owner, dotty perhaps, perhaps not.
The disjointed narrative goes from mystery, to possible supernatural, to recriminations.