07/15/08
Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton plays a weak film projectionist who dreams of one day becoming a great detective like Sherlock Holmes. He's in love with a girl but her family kicks him out thinking he stole her brother's watch but when he gets back to his job he magically finds himself sucked into the movie on screen where he gets to be a great detective. This here is certainly one of Keaton's greatest films but even though I say that I really don't think it's one of his funniest. I think this film works best as a pure visual treat and a film that does wonders with story telling. Everyone knows that Woody Allen pretty much remade this with
The Purple Rose of Cairo and my opinion on that is pretty much the same. Allen's film was a wonder story telling wise but I never really found it all that funny. There are certainly some very funny sequences here including Keaton shadowing the suspected thief, the infamous water basin scene where the actor nearly broke his neck but kept on filming but the highlight of the film has the be the big chase at the end of the film. Quite often I find myself watching Keaton's films and just scratching my head trying to figure out who he didn't get killed doing some of these stunts and there are at least three instances like that in this film. As I said, this film is no where near Keaton's funniest but it's still a magically little film about dreams and, as a movie fan, an added kick of getting to join a movie to live out your dream.
Spider Woman, The (1944)
Roy William Neill
Fast paced fifth entry in the series has London being hit with a wide range of suicides but Holmes (Basil Rathbone) thinks that murder is behind it. Through his investigation he comes across a young woman (Gale Sondergaard) who appears innocent but soon it's clear she's behind the spider attacks, which is leading to the suicides. I think the story here is a little far fetched and the mystery aspect is zero but the film still remains very entertaining through it's short running time. I'm really not sure how the film could have been better because it seems the director did everything he could with the screenplay but I guess more of a mystery would have helped things. The lack of a real mystery might be due to the fact that the film only runs 63-minutes and perhaps even five more minutes would have made a somewhat deeper picture. With that said, the chemisty between Rathbone and Nigel Bruce is once again very high and it appears that Rathbone just keeps getting better and better as the series moves along. Everything from his mannerisms to his walk to his talk are all right on the mark and it makes it hard to see any other actor pulling this character off so well. I found Sondergaard to be good in her role but I wouldn't say she delivered a great performance, although she's certainly better here than the strange
The Spider Woman Strikes Back, which was released two years after this. The ending is a mixed blessing because what happens to Holmes adds some nice tension but the conclusion is rather weak and out of no where.
Scarlet Claw, The (1944)
Roy William Neill
Sixth in Universal's series takes place in a small Canadian town where the locals believe a ghost is haunting the marshes and ripped the throat of a young actress. Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are on hand but the master detective believes there's more going on than a simple haunting. This is certainly one of the best in the series as director Neill does a marvelous job at building up an eerie atmosphere mixed in with various horror elements. The debate on what's horror or a thriller could lead to an interested chat with this film because the line of what is what is very close here. I love the way Neill builds up the atmosphere with the use of lighting and fog. The fog machine here must have been the same one used in Universal's
The Wolf Man because it's on all the time and it pumps enough stuff out for three films. The use of lighting is also very well handled especially in an early scene that takes place in a room where the actresses body is. The story itself is very well written and they take their time in telling its story as this film is the longest running out of the six. The outcome to the story is also very well delivered and includes a wonderful sequence in the marsh. As is to be expected, Rathbone and Bruce are terrific yet again. The supporting cast includes strong performances by Kay Harding, Arthur Hohl, Miles Mander and Gerald Hamer.
Pearl of Death, The (1944)
Roy William Neill
Seventh in Universal's series has a mysterious pearl stolen so Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are on the case. As more bodies begin to pile up Holmes forms a strange notion that the pearl maybe hidden in one of six Napoleon figures. While I enjoyed this mystery I must be honest and say that I thought it was the weakest of the previous four films. The story is good, the direction is nice but I really had an issue with some of the supporting performance, which I'll get to in a minute. The idea of a little pearl causing so much death is an interesting one and Neill uses it to make some very nice scenes including countless aftermaths of violence. Rathbone is very strong again and he also gets to go in disguise two times and both times the actor pulls the prank off perfectly. Dennis Hoey gets some nice comic relief as the dimwitted Inspector but I was really disappointed in Evelyn Ankers who was making her second appearance in the series. I usually enjoy watching her in anything but I found her character fairly underwritten or she just didn't give too much energy to the role. Rondo Hatton has his first of three roles of The Creeper and does a good job in the film but I hate the way the studio used in and always found it rather sad considering what happened to him to get his appearance.
07/16/08
Queen of Outer Space (1958)
Edward Bernds
A spaceship with four men run into some sort of ray, which pulls them onto the planet Venus where the entire place is being ran by women. An evil Queen (Laurie Mitchell) plans to destroy the Earth with this ray but the men and a female scientist (Zsa Zsa Gabor) have other plans. This film has earned the reputation of being one of the biggest cult films out there and rightfully so because the movie is so weird that you can't help but be entertained by it. The film is rather strange because it tries to be dead serious with its message and some of the drama but at the same time the film offers up plenty of comedy relief and in the end the two don't mix well together but it still makes for an entertaining film. There's some off the wall, sexist dialogue, which actually comes off very funny with some nice one-liners as well as flat out jokes about women ruling the planet. The performances are all rather bland but the actor do enough justice to make their characters entertaining. Eric Fleming probably comes off the best but Mitchell isn't too bad either. The make up of the disfigured face on Mitchell looks pretty good and the sets are also very well done and colorful. Finally being able to see the full 2.35:1 aspect ratio is another plus thanks to Warner's DVD.
Crossroads of Laredo (1995)
Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Wood's first film, running just 20-minutes, has him playing a young cowboy who loses his best girl to the bad guy who eventually marries her. A year later the woman has turned into a slave so the good cowboy tries to get her back. Wood originally directed this film in the late 40's or early 50's but no one bought it and for decades it was considered lost until the original producer found a print and then restored it. The audio track is still missing so a narrator pretty much tells us what's going on but this is the biggest problem. The narration is very annoying and I think it would have been better had they just released the film silent. As to be expected, the film is pretty poor from start to finish with wooden acting, bad directing and some horrible camerawork, which looks worse than some of the films I've seen from the 1890's. There are some usual Wood moments including a woman carrying her baby, which is clearly just a bunch of rags and another scene involving a funeral where it's obvious the coffin is just a paper box. Wood's ex and future Elvis songwriter, Dolorus Fuller, does the music score and wrote two songs, which would be performed by Elvis, Jr.
Another Woman (1988)
Woody Allen
A middle aged, emotionless writer (Gena Rowlands) rents an apartment next to a psychiatrist office where she hears another woman (Mia Farrow) talk about her life and soon the writer begins to take a look at the choices she has made in life. This is Allen doing another Ingmar Bergman impersonation and for the most part he pulls it off. The film runs 80-minutes, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that Allen takes his time telling the story and there are a few parts that drag so I'm glad the film didn't run any longer. However, I think part of the reason the film drags is because some of the supporting characters, like Rowlands' husband, aren't written out enough so perhaps a longer film could have done this. As with Bergman and Allen's previously made
Interiors, this film certainly isn't going to be for everyone due to how depressing and dark it is but Allen's dialogue and the cinematography by Sven Nykvist really makes for a beautiful picture. Rowlands is extremely good in her role and she carries enough intelligence that she doesn't need dialogue to get her feelings across. One of the final scenes between Rowlands and her brother is incredibly touching without any long speeches needed. Farrow is also very good in her few scenes in the film as is Ian Holm but I wish his character would have been a tad bit better written. Gene Hackman really steals the film in his few scenes as a man in love with Rowlands. This isn't one of Allen's greatest pictures but I think it shows what a truly unique talent he is in the way he can handle the dark drama of the film.
Sleeper (1973)
Woody Allen
A dorky health food store owner (Woody Allen) goes to the hospital for a simple surgery but wakes up two-hundred years later and gets thrown into a revolution to take over the government. In many ways this thing plays out just like a silent movie and the influence of Buster Keaton are everywhere including a hilarious scene where instant pudding starts to grow out of control and Allen must battle it with a broom. This early entry from the writer/director is certainly a mile a minute type laugh fest and for the most part this thing works, although I feel the final third of the movie can't keep up with what came before it. The best thing in the movie is the chemistry between Allen and Diane Keaton who would of course go onto many more films. The way the two play off one another is certainly the best thing in the film as it really comes off as something we'd seen in classic films from the 1920's and 30's. Allen's screenplay throws out countless gags a minute and some fall flat but the majority of them are home runs including a great sequence near the start of the film where Allen must tell some doctors who certain people are from the past including Stalin. Allen's writing also makes for some great one-liners like a scene where Keaton tells him it's hard to believe he hasn't had sex in two-hundred years and Allen comes back with "two-hundred and four if you count my marriage". The incredibly fast pace that Allen creates somewhat backfires in the final third of the film when the revolution finally starts as the jokes don't come as fast and the film slows down. Even with that said, the unique talent of Allen is certainly on display here and it would only get better with future films.
It's just that Ms. Romay doesn't know how to work the sexuality, and she came off very awkward - at least in FEMALE VAMPIRE. 
