Change Your Image
Bob G.
Reviews
Cold Comfort Farm (1968)
Both have their virtues - and Mr. Jones!
First of all, has anyone else noted that the gifted British actor Freddie Jones, who plays both Urk and Dr. Mudel in the earlier version, also plays Adam Lambsbreath in the latter? While I adore Atkins and McKellan as Judith and Amos, Sim and Crutchley (and especially Crutchley) are outstanding and definitive as the mad married couple of the book.
I will never get over the crotch-level shot of Seth in the first version during his speech about the spiders. I, too, saw this production on Masterpiece Theatre as a youth, and it has never left me. I made tracks to see the recent film, which I love for many reasons. Still, was there ever a more resplendent rehabilitated Ada Doom than Faye Compton? (Note for trivia buffs: Both Compton and Crutchley appear in the classic film THE HAUNTING.)
To Catch a Killer (1992)
Great, if miscast, Dennehy, but not too authentic, eh?
With no malice against our neighbors to the north, I must say that one reason this telefilm fails is the overwhelming "Made in Canada" quality. That is to say, it's well-made and mostly well-acted, but it's obvious throughout (even without Margot Kidder popping up) that there has been little attempt to have the Canadian locations and actors (who say things like "Juhn's nut here - he's still oot at work") simulate any kind of a Chicago feeling.
Dennehy is too handsome and slick for the uber-nerd murderer John Wayne Gacy, though his acting of what he's been given to do is impeccable. Gacy wore the mask of the jolly "can-do" guy, whereas Dennehy in his leather jacket is someone you'd think twice about accepting a lift from.
Darkness Falls (2003)
Not as good as it should be, but nicely made!
I finally caught DARKNESS FALLS and enjoyed it, though I can hardly imagine ever sitting through it again. The prologue, with its (overly) plotty backstory was actually quite atmospheric, if economical. But the writers' attempt to recast the "Tooth Fairy" as a fearsome creature of the night seems like a parody at best. And what is this creature, anyway? A ghost? A demon? The p**sed-off butcher's wife from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF? Sloppy, sloppy. I liked that, as in JEEPERS CREEPERS, the cast is mostly unknown, and the humor (mostly from the would-be boyfriend lawyer) was not too intrusive. Throughout, though, I kept expecting Vin Diesel to show up, in PITCH BLACK mode, to REALLY kick Matilda's bottom.
Maniac (1934)
It may shock you, or become a nap-time favorite!
MANIAC is an unforgettable experience. From its ham-handed exposition (Mad professor to psychotic aide: "You're always telling me about your impersonations...why don't you impersonate the coroner?") to its duh-obvious script (Wife, regarding her out-of-control husband, who has been injected with something very bad: "Doctor - he doesn't seem to be getting better, but worse!"), this is a classic of its kind - and may be the only film OF its kind! I've sat and watched it unblinking, and I've had it put me to sleep, but I've still got to see it once a year.
Come to think of it, this gluey little film is sort of a black & white waking nightmare.
(Oh, and it's got not only cats, but a "cat-fight" as well!)
The Apple (1980)
I think of it as AFTER DARK: THE MUSICAL
If you are gay and of a certain age (as I am), you may remember a certain glossy "magazine of entertainment." This was AFTER DARK, which was the gayest non-porn magazine ever, and it was most popular during the 70's and 80's. People like Liza and Bette appeared on the cover, and lots of tasteful male nude and nearly-nude photos abounded. It was glitzy, heavily-mascared, skimpy underwear-clad, pre-AIDS fun.
That brings me to THE APPLE. Beyond the title number, set in Hell, which has to be one of my favorite bad rock movie free-for-alls (with horrid lyrics and extremely hard-working dancers), the "sex" number, with multiple beds full of women in slips and men in gold briefs, absolutely proves my point that this movie was merely a film transcription of the late, lamented AD.
If XANADU and GREASE 2 can be issued on DVD, why not a remastered and remixed wide-screen edition of THE APPLE? Call your local congressman or gay cult-film fan TODAY!
The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
Oddity, but try to look away!
This moralistic tale is a must-see, at least once, for its excesses and, above all, Ona Munson's wigs. Indeed, Miss Munson, so memorable as Belle Watling in GONE WITH THE WIND, seems to be letting her wigs and costumes play the role of the secretive and dangerous "Mother" Gin Sling ("Goddamn" in the original play, and changed for obvious reasons, if rather cleverly). I disagree with at least one previous poster; she never convinces as a Chinese woman. In fact, with her nearly expressionless face and exotic make-up, she rather reminded me of Lucille Ricardo as the Mahjarincess of Franistan.
Von Sternberg's famous disregard in matching his close-ups to the actual positions of the cast in the master shot is well known, and apparent here (as in THE SCARLET EMPRESS); it seems to point the way to the dreamy editing of Ed Wood's basement budget flicks.
Hmm, I wonder if this was one of Ed's fave-raves...
Ghost Story (1981)
Misbegotten, yet strangely fascinating!
The movie shows signs of severe post-production editing (probably when the studio discovered that the film was something of a mess). There are actors listed in the credits who never appear in the film (the whole poltergeist incident featuring the Dedham sisters - gone! Ricky's parents - gone!). Watch out for the re-use of Astaire's early line to Houseman, "We have to help the boy" in the very late dredging the pond scene (it makes no sense there, but what the hell, they never explain why Astaire suddenly realizes that exposing Eva's body to the light of day will rout her anyway). I just bought the thing on DVD (it was marked down to $9.99!), so I have to admit I love it on some level. Craig Wasson's performance seems to have been sabotaged by editing that places his reactions a beat off every time - either that, or the editors saw no reason to tighten his scenes - in either case, it's an odd portrayal, not helped by a screenplay that makes him the most passive horror hero you ever saw. Aside from the shock cuts to Dick Smith's masterly variations on a corpse theme and Krige's bathtub scream, the movie is eerie rather than scary (see Krige's ghostly wedding dress promenade at the climax). The Gregory and Fenny Bate subplot (Straub's take on THE TURN OF THE SCREW on the novel) should have been handled (or cast) better, or eliminated entirely. In fact, at times the casting seems to be as amateurish as an Ed Wood classic - Gregory, the embarrassed waiter in the restaurant scene, the oddly accented secretary at the school (listen as she turns "Mr. Wanderley" into something like "Wanderlah")- they all seem to be relatives (or dates!) of the production team.
In response to the earlier post concerning Wasson's nude blue-screen jiggling, there was indeed a photo published in CINEFANTASTIQUE documenting his discomfort - and that must be a stuntman who does the naked flop onto the poolside tiles - someone send that man a "Buns of Steel" tape immediately! Phillipe Sarde's over the top but evocative score has, by the way, been turning up on various American soap operas and Spanish telenovelas for years.
Mame (1974)
It's no surprise this film is known as "Lucy's Folly!"
MAME is an obsession of mine; to me, it is the equivalent of an Ed Wood musical, only with a budget. Lucille Ball was the last person who should have been cast as the free-wheeling loose wheel of a wealthy WASP family - as composer Jerry Herman has lamented, Mame is a classy woman who surprises us when she does goofy things, not a slapstick clown in the Lucy Ricardo mold (Barbra Streisand is, as of this writing, planning to produce and star in a TV version of the show - wrong again!). Watch the first number, "It's Today," to reveal all that is wrong and yet strangely fascinating about this colossal misfire. Miss Ball croaks her way through the song (which has been considerably slowed down for her), eschewing the bubbly warmth Roz Russell brought to the role, instead fixing her vaseline and gauze-obscured features into a glazed stare that's supposed to tell the world "I'm having FUN, dammit!" Behind her is assembled the most inept group of extras in the history of film, including one woman in a sari who clearly DOES NOT REMEMBER the words of the song she's singing. Watch also as Lucy (presumably given up on by choreographer Onna White) time and again falls back on a peculiarly graceless back-and-forth little shimmy with arms held akimbo - she looks like she's trying to make her way through the jungle and dry her nails at the same time. As "Mame" finally descends a grand staircase at the (so-called) climax of the number, don't miss the rouged older gentleman who races across along behind her in his frenzy to stay in frame, as well as the unfortunate young woman on the steps who Lucy inadvertently swipes across the face (causing said extra to lean back and insert the feather of her chic little hat almost directly into the mouth of the unlucky fellow behind her). It's irrestibly and memorably bad. To paraphrase the ad campaign for CARRIE, "If you've got a taste for terror, invite MAME to your party!"