Reviews

It's true, we're all wondering how a 50 foot woman can fit in a bedroom, even a big bedroom that is 20' by 20'. But we shouldn't quibble, for obviously the tall girl had her knees bent.

Let's get down to cases. I'm not worried about Nancy seeing satellites, or my favorite line in the film, beautifully delivered by the deputy when he's ordered by the sheriff to fire his gun at the towering, vengeful female, "I CAN'T SHOOT A LADY!"

What I really want to know is why nobody that has commented on this film, from the experts to the fans, has wondered aloud why philandering Harry Archer prefers a slim blond in Honey Parker, to his rich, sultry, curvy, gorgeous wife, Nancy. Allison Hayes is so sexy, so leggy, and so hot in her black dresses and black high heels that Yvette Vickers looks like a pale, washed out blond in comparison. Yes, Yvette Vickers is pretty, but she's not a former Miss America contestant with the raw sex appeal that Allison Hayes has.

In conclusion sci-fi fans, when I watch this movie its because I get to see Allison Hayes walk around a lot in tight dresses, and to see all that leg and cleavage she shows while walking through the countryside and when she's busy demolishing the roof of that seedy little bar and grill where Harry & Honey hang out.

For those who get the latest DVD for this film with the commentary by Tom Weaver and Yvette Vickers, be advised that the whole commentary is a showcase for Vickers career. They spend about two minutes total talking about Allison Hayes, which I found infuriating.

Meanwhile, let me get back to looking at this movie one more time, so I can see my favorite, dark-haired bombshell, Allison Hayes, swing those hips and strut her stuff while she knocks down another drink and twirls that 'Star of India' diamond around her graceful fingers.

The Giant Claw is in fierce competition with films like, 'Robot Monster' and 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' for worst film of all time. A phony looking giant vulture attacks 'Lionel Trains' in this completely unconscious film. The script is so bad that everything the characters say to one another is ridiculous. It's no wonder that this film is a prime target in the movie, "It Came From Hollywood," where this gem is hammered for the line, 'A Bird As Big As A Battleship', with gleeful, endless needling. The line pops up relentlessly through the course of the film, so there's no escaping it. There are several shots from, 'The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms' and 'Earth vs. The Flying Saucers' among other sci-fi films from the 50's to beef up the scraggly vulture's attacks. At one point the big vulture is responsible for a few deaths, so the military puts the entire world under martial law and no one is allowed to go out of their homes. Of course, the huge buzzard is mainly concerned with pursuing the stars of this classic, Jeff Morrow & Mara Corday, wherever they might be. Yet the director is so lame that he doesn't even provide for a few honey shots of pretty Mara in a decent dress and black heels for a little relief from the tedium of this zero star thriller. That's the second time this blunder has been made. In 'Tarantula', Mara Corday struts around in hot dresses for the whole film, but is relegated to pants throughout, 'The Giant Scorpion'. The budget for this film must have been not more than thirty or forty thousand dollars and I doubt whether Morrow or Corday got more than three thousand to make it. It looks like the whole thing was shot right out of somebody's garage.

I was very curious to see this film for a long time, and was happy to finally get the chance to see it when it came out on DVD not long ago. I've always liked Colin Clive, and it seemed to me that he would be a good choice to play Edward Rochester. I wasn't disappointed. He was nervous, agitated, sympathetic and quite tormented as usual. I wasn't familiar with Virginia Bruce going in, and was absolutely astounded that she was chosen for the part of Jane Eyre. What we have here is a big, buxom, beautiful blond with a flawless, pale complexion and a gorgeous smile. With her shoes on she's nearly as tall as Clive & that sultry, fleshy body of hers suggests she outweighs the gaunt actor by more than a few pounds as well. During the party Rochester has for his guests he says to Jane, "You're a funny little thing..." which I thought was a hoot since the script writer must have wrote the scene before clapping an eye on Ms. Bruce, who is anything but a "Funny little thing."

What does all this mean? Well yes, as others here have said, this film has only a glancing similarity to the novel. The discrepancies are so outrageous that they border on being quite charming and sweet. Aileen Pringle as Blanche Ingram is an attractive actress, yet Virginia Bruce has a huge advantage in looks over her that actually leads to dialog suggesting as much! In the novel Rochester is tormented and difficult, but he is a powerful and dominating figure. Here, Colin Clive as Rochester is tormented and weak, and as such we have a romance where he is all but consumed and comforted by Jane's tall figure and ample charms. The sequence where Rochester tricks Jane into choosing jewelry, clothes and other items out for herself and not Blanche Ingram (which is Jane's mistaken notion) is consistent with the novel and other film versions and is very touching. This is the no stress version of Jane Eyre that I found very pleasing to watch.

Rasputin The Mad Monk is one of those films that has not stood the test of time. When I first saw it, I thought it was a good film, but subsequent viewings have soured me on the film considerably.

There are many problems with it, starting with the cast, which includes many of the players of "Dracula, Prince of Darkness," which is in its own right the most boring and tedious vampire film ever made by Hammer. Suzan Farmer is in both films, and as usual chips in a languid and insipid performance as a lady-in-waiting to the Czarina. Francis Mathews is also in both, and he gives another one of his light-weight efforts. Barbara Shelley makes a very compelling vampire in 'Prince of Darkness', though she is dispatched to quickly and brutally to save that film from itself. In Rasputin, she is ruthlessly dominated by the mad monk, and it's almost painful to watch how pathetic her character becomes as the film drags on. Richard Pasco is not in Dracula, but he has a major role as an alcoholic doctor in Rasputin. Pasco has to be one of the most irritating and grating actors I've ever seen. His herky-jerky mannerisms and high strung temperament ruined Hammer's "The Gorgon" and he's just about as pathetic here. Lee gives a two dimensional performance as Rasputin, which is heavy on the roar and heavy on the stare.

Also, all the sets from "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" are in clear view of this film, limited though they are. Rasputin looks so cheaply made and has so little scope, especially when one considers the historical context involved, that it has virtually no movement. This is Hammer on the cheap, big time. With all these things weighing against it, Rasputin can only crumble under its own ineptitude. And all those cockney accents in a supposedly Russian setting are more annoying than usual.

Some reviewers have said that Spencer Tracy gives a measured and thoughtful performance in what is considered to be an interesting psychological study of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Yet, what is Tracy's mild mannered and low-key Dr. Jekyll really after in this film? What are his needs and what are his problems? He seems to have a few ideas about the nature of good and evil in every man and he's doing some experiments to further explore this theory. Oh yes, he also has a pretty girlfriend he's going to marry one of these days and for the most part he gets along pretty well with her father.

Now, let's clap an eye on Frederic March's Dr. Jekyll. Here's a man who's so sexually frustrated that he's going to put his fist through the wall any moment, unless his future father-in-law lets him marry his daughter Muriel within about the next 15 seconds. Muriel is played by Rose Hobart, who's superb performance is often overlooked because of the great job done by Miriam Hopkins as Ivy Pearson. Muriel knows that Jekyll is on fire for her, and constantly battles her father to move up the wedding. In contrast to the fairly good relationship that Tracy has with Donald Crisp, who plays Sir Charles Emery, the father of Beatrix, (Lana Turner) the relationship March has with Haliwell Hobbes as General Carew is full of tension and heated arguments.

Also, where as Tracy conducts his experiments with all the gusto of reading a book by the fireplace, March as Jekyll is young, vibrant and enthusiastic. He's so excited about his experiement, and while Tracy was going to give the potion to a hospital patient initially, March always intended to be the first to try it.

Once Mr. Hyde is on the scene, it becomes clear just how more focused the March version is in comparison to the Tracy version. Tracy's Hyde is nothing more than the run-down, sadistic side of Jekyll. But Frederic March's Mr. Hyde is clearly the sexually liberated side of Jekyll. March's Hyde is not going to be put on indefinite hold by the Victorian convictions of General Carew. No, he's going to have some sex right now, and off he goes looking for Ivy Pearson. When he discovers she's not home, he's quick to ask a neighbor where he can find her. In comparison, Tracy's Hyde does not go to Ivy's home, but to a dance-hall, and by a trick of chance, discovers Ivy working as a barmaid in the place.

March's performance is also more moving emotionally when he is on his way to his engagement party. When Tracy begins to change into Hyde in the same scene, he seems confused and a little troubled, but doesn't seem to know what's actually happening to him. But March senses what is happening to him in the last seconds before Hyde takes over, and goes through tremendous suffering and moans aloud as he fights in vain in an effort to keep Hyde back.

The theme of sexual frustration always runs true in the March version. As Hyde, when he ridicules Jekyll in fron of Ivy, he calls him a hypocrite for conforming to Victorian morality instead of indulging his lust with Muriel before their marriage vows. When Tracy's Hyde needles Jekyll, the focus is more on his vain effort to protect Ivy, and not on sexual frustration at all, since that really isn't pushed as an issue in this later version. Although Tracy gives an interesting performance in the dual role, his Dr. Jekyll is too laid-back and subdued to be convincing as a daring scientist and his Mr. Hyde is little more than a bully and a mischief maker. The Frederic March performance is more powerful, and the film as a whole is more focused and full of tension.

Baby Face is considered by many to be the most notorious film made before the production code was strictly enforced in 1934 when Joseph Breen came into power.

The plot involves Lily Powers, played by Barbara Stanwyck, leaving a dirty little bar in a grimy steel town to try her luck in the big city. She sets her sights on the 'Gotham Trust Company' and seduces one man after the other as she successfully claws her way to the top.

Despite the notoriety of 'Baby Face', most of the sex is suggested rather than seen, there is no on screen violence, and Lily's methods really don't go beyond the usual feminine flirtations of showing off a little leg, batting the eye lashes, and offering the occasional peak down the top of her dress. In fact, the other girls in the office, many of whom are as pretty as Lily, know exactly what she's doing, and it's even possible some of them are playing the same game.

The plot has some glaring errors. When Lily enters the personnel office, she finds a pudding faced clerk named Pratt behind the desk, who informs her, as he did two other gorgeous women before her, that the boss won't be back for an hour. Lily seduces Pratt, who follows her into a side room. But Pratt is not in charge and doesn't have the authority to give Lily a job, and since she realizes this, there's no way she should be giving herself to this man.

When Lily gets a job in the filing department, she quickly starts working on Brody, the supervisor, by leaning up against him and letting him look down her dress. He promotes her, but is caught in a back office with her by Stevens, (Donald Cook, who played Cagney's brother in 'The Public Enemy') a more powerful executive in the company, who fires him on the spot. Amazingly, Lily not only talks her way out of being dismissed, but gets promoted to being Stevens personal secretary.

When all her scheming results in violence and mayhem, Lily is transferred to Paris. At this point her character changes completely, and not only does she behave herself in Paris, but she does such a good job that she earns a legitimate promotion. Lily won't even date any men because she's focusing on her job and doesn't want to get involved. Then, the plot takes a ridiculous twist. The head of the company, Courtland Trenholm, visits the Paris office, and now, in a complete switch, Lily goes after him, partly because she likes him, and partly because he's rich. From here, the film gets more and more absurd. The two marry, and suddenly, Trenholm is in serious legal trouble. One moment he's rich, the next he's poor. Lily goes crazy trying to decide what to do. She should have stuck with her supervisory position in the Paris office and she could have avoided all the grief. The film has two endings, one after the other. You can see where the additional scene was tacked on, probably after the production code was strictly enforced a year later when Breen took office. Only the first one makes any sense, the one which ends in the ambulance.

Overall, Baby Face is much more tame than the critics have led us to believe. Barbara Stanwyck does give an excellent performance, and more than anything, this film illustrates just how easy sexy and beautiful women can manipulate men, regardless of their age or standing, by exploiting their inability to control their desire.

Robert Donat stars in this engaging spy thriller as Canadian Richard Hannay, who gets embroiled in all manner of intrigue when he attends a live stage show in London. The finale of the show features Mr. Memory, a remarkable man who has memorized thousands of facts on all manner of subjects. When someone asks Mr. Memory who the last British heavyweight champion was, before he can answer, one member of the audience calls out, "Henry V111", and another, "My old woman." Then shots are heard. Hannay finds himself escorting Annabella Smith to his apartment, where he feeds her a huge piece of fish fillet. Somehow, she manages to get fatally stabbed in Hannay's apartment, (A neat trick since he wasn't hurt, there was no hint of forced entry, and she certainly didn't go for a walk since she knew there were men after her and had alerted him about it.) and tells him sensitive information which will force him to go to Scotland with international spies and the police hot on his heels.

The film is very compelling and Donat is superb as the level-headed, easy going and remarkably shrewd gentleman who always manages to outwit his adversaries. One scene in particular is a riot. Hannay is on the run from spies in a large town in Scotland with handcuffs attached to one of his wrists. He manages to slip into a political meeting at the very moment a large room full of people are waiting for a candidate to arrive and give his views on the issues. Using platitudes, generalities, sincere fervor, and his dashing charm, Hannay delivers a rousing speech, demonstrating the seldom recognized truth that politicians rarely if ever say anything definitive about the 'issues'.

The cast is excellent, including Miles Malleson as the music hall announcer who introduces Mr. Memory. Miles was in "A Christmas Carol" with Allister Sim as a kind of disheveled pawn broker. He also played a minister who is an expert on tarantulas in the Hammer version of 'Hound of The Baskervilles', and he played a doctor in Hammer's "Brides of Dracula". Also in the cast is Peggy Ashcroft as Margaret Crofter, an attractive and lonely woman who is married to a farmer much older than herself. She falls for Hannay right away and helps him escape from the police ... and her husband! She had a pivotal role in "The Nun's Story" with Audrey Hepburn, as the nun in charge of the community in the Belgian Congo.

The "39 Steps" keeps up a bristling pace as Hannay races against time and continually must elude the pursuers who are after him at every turn. What is nice about the film is that it has a particular charm and a number of sweet interludes in unexpected places that do not diminish the suspense which keeps you completely engrossed in the story.

Do you find the musicals of the 40's and 50's pristine, sterile and virginal in the extreme? And based on this unhappy discovery you've decided that you don't like musicals. Please do not distress yourself and allow me to introduce you to the Busby Berkeley musicals of the 1930's, starting with 42nd Street, the best of them all.

Like nearly all the musicals of its time, 42nd Street is a depression-era back stage musical which focuses on the grueling hours that have to be put in by the singers and dancers day after day in preparation of opening night. The film has a fine cast with lovely Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, George Brent and Warner Baxter, who chews the scenery in every scene he's in as the stage director of 'Pretty Lady'.

What separates films like "42nd Street" from the musicals of the 40's and 50's is the daring camera work of dance director Busby Berkeley. Berkeley loves his chorus girls, and he has no qualms about aiming his camera up their dresses at every opportunity. One of the sexiest moments in the film comes when the girls try out for the chorus in their street clothes. Each girl of course is dressed differently from the others, with a different hat (love those cute 30's hats) dress and high-heel shoes. This variety makes them look hotter than when they're all wearing the same chorus outfit. When they have to show their legs in the hopes of being chosen, Berkeley gets his camera down low and gives you a birds eye view of each girl's legs ... first a front view, than they turn and let you get a good look at their calves. It is a very erotic scene. Later, when the girls leave their dressing rooms and are coming down the stairs for opening night, Berkeley puts his camera under the stairs and shoots up their dresses as they pass. Again, when the girls emerge from backstage and high-kick out for the opening number, Berkeley has his camera down low at a 45 degree angle, aiming right up the chute of the costumes of the first few girls to dance out on stage. Further along, all the chorus girls form an arc in one number with their legs wide open and Berkeley tracks right thru their legs all the way around the circle. You can even see the last girl has a gold ankle bracelet on her left ankle. Once the production code was strictly enforced after 1934, shots like this were never seen again.

42nd Street has three great songs, "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me", "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" and of course "42nd Street". There have been many revivals of "42nd Street", and they often include the best numbers of other films, along with the three I mentioned, including "Dames" from the film of the same name, "Go Into Your Dance", a terrific number, and "Lullaby of Broadway", which is the highlight number from "Gold-Diggers of 1935", which has a spectacular tap dance sequence with 100 chorus girls wearing gorgeous, sheer black skirts as part of their chorus outfits. If musicals often leave you cold, and you haven't given "42nd Street" a try, than I suggest that you do so ... and sit close to the television set.

Just about everyone has seen Godzilla, King of The Monsters, but not too many people have seen Gojira with English subtitles. I had heard that the all-Japanese version was much better than the one with the scenes with Raymond Burr, and only recently was able to make that judgment for myself.

The American version includes all the monster footage from Gojira, (though the sequence of the shots sometimes varies) except for a few extra shots of the jets attacking him just before he returns to the sea after his second and most lethal attack on Tokyo. There is a little more discussion with Dr. Yamane explaining his findings with slides at the open forum and more discussion in Serizawa's lab with Emiko and Ogata, and aside from a few additional shots here and there, thats about it. However, what separates the two films is being informed exactly what is being said in Japanese, whether it involves a scene that is in both versions or just in Gojira.



For example, we learn in Gojira that people and livestock were killed on Oto Island when the monster came ashore during a storm at night. In the American version, it's unclear whether anyone was killed at all. The legend of Godzilla is played up more on Oto Island, and the belief in the need to sacrifice maidens to the creature.

At the forum, we learn that according to Dr. Yamane, Gojira is 50 meters tall, which is a considerable discrepancy from the American version where the scientist is dubbed as saying the monster is over 400 feet tall. Very importantly, we find out what that big argument is about when some women really get into it with some government officials. It seems the politicians want to keep Gojira's existence a secret from the general public, while the women think everyone should know about this prehistoric menace. We also learn Yamane anticipates before any battles are fought that it is unlikely that Gojira will be able to be killed by conventional weapons. We also obtain much more information about 'why' Dr. Yamane feels Gojira should not be destroyed.

Gojira (and Godzilla) is probably the most successful example I've seen of a man-in-a-suit monster. Somehow, the two night attacks on Tokyo are extremely effective. In fact, Gojira's slow, methodical and deliberate manner of annihilating everything in his path, including people, buildings and military weapons, comes across as wanton and sadistic. The music is a slow, hopeless, melancholy dirge that accompanies Gojira during his almost casual incineration of the city.

Overall, I'd say Gojira has the edge over Godzilla, mainly because you have so much more information about what is being said in Japanese, which of course gives you far better character development. Gojira is a dark, gloomy film that is very unsettling to the point that even the eventual defeat of the monster is somehow not particularly reassuring.

Most of us have heard the expression, "That film is so bad it's good," but truth be told, it really is hard to identify any film that's "So bad it's good." The grim truth about "Unknown Island" is that it's "So bad it stinks." In this regard "Unknown Island can join "Robot Monster" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space" among the worst films ever made, and in each case they too, are "So bad they stink."

What prevents "Unknown Island" from being "So bad it's good," are the same problems that plague films like "Robot Monster" and "Plan 9". "Unknown Island" has a ridiculous script, tedious pace, sub-mediocre cast, pedestrian direction and in the case of the latter, the most absurd looking dinosaurs in film history.

The plot involves a scientist, Ted Osborne (Philip Reed) and his scrawny fiancee Carol Lane (Virginia Grey) inexplicably chartering a ship from a man who's a complete lout, (Barton Maclane) for the purpose of going to an island to take photos of prehistoric creatures somewhere in the Pacific. A local drunk, John Fairbanks, (Richard Denning) is hijacked by the captain because he's already been to the island, and so might prove to be valuable as a guide.

There's an interminable scene to start the film in a decadent cafe where Osborne & Lane charter the ship from Capt. Tarnowski, whose lewd behavior toward Virginia Grey is so exaggerated, that it's hard to believe this young couple went through with the charter. Denning sobers up fast, and proves to know every nook and cranny of the prehistoric island so well, you'd think he lived there for years. Denning is supposed to be the good guy, who is concerned about the safety of Virginia Grey, when Reed inexplicably begins focusing more on his photographs than her safety. But Denning can't help coming across as a snidy, snippy guy, as usual. No matter what he does in films, Denning is always a short-tempered, sneering character. He gives an identical performance in "Creature From The Black Lagoon", but at least there he's supposed to be the villain.

It is impossible to have a kind word about the dinosaurs. I know some viewers are going to say, "Well, at least they're not iguanas," but, and it pains me to say this, give me the iguanas. These men-in-suits Tyranosaurs are almost completely immobile, and an ambitious group of kindergarten children could have put together a more credible looking beast. When one considers that "Godzilla, King of The Monsters" is a man-in-a-dinosaur suit, we KNOW that it's possible to achieve good results. But what we have here can only be described as pathetic. The DVD price for this film is $9.00 or $10.00, but although that sounds like a fair price, in this case it's way too much money.

The blistering heat and unrelenting humidity of a hot summer day drive the tenants of a four story walk-up out in front of the house, where they sit on the stoop and gossip about one another with wanton relish. Others hang out the window, watching the cars drive by on the busy, two way street, while the occasional passing of the el can be heard coming down the tracks at the end of the block.

The most vicious of the gossips is played by Beulah Bondi, a hag of a woman who looks much older than her years. Her favorite target is the very lonely, and very stunning Mrs. Maurrant, wonderfully played by Estelle Taylor, who is constantly bullied by her husband, played by David Landau. Mrs. Maurrant is so lovely, she looks more like an older sister to Rose, portrayed nicely by Sylvia Sidney, instead of her mother. Mrs. Maurrant is so desperate for some kindness and attention, that her fondness for the milkman is easily discerned by her jackal-like neighbors. The moment she's out of sight, Beulah Bondi's character starts passing judgment with a vengeance, and gets the other neighbors all stirred up in the process. To make matter's worse, Bondi and the others always act so peculiar every time Mr. Maurrant passes by, that he soon grasps the fact that they think his wife is having an affair with the milkman.

Although the building is filled with people of different nationalities and creeds, all displaying intolerance of others in one way or another, the main theme of the film is the belief that malicious gossip, unforgiving and relenting, is as deadly as any weapon, and probably more so. At least a gun can shoot a person dead in a moment, but cruel and relentless gossip cuts at the heart and soul without mercy. Mrs. Maurrant is chided, ridiculed, humiliated, and made fun of at every turn, while she bravely tries to be friendly and understanding to everyone else. Street Scene is well written and wonderfully acted by all the players, but it's a creaky film with almost no movement. The whole movie is shot on the front stoop of the house, and such a static film may be difficult for some to take. But, it is a touching story that will make some question the usual rules regarding morality and fidelity. Even Mr. Murrant becomes the victim of the gossip, as he explains to his daughter Rose, "It was all the talk that was driving me crazy."

This is one of the most ridiculous westerns that Hollywood ever made. Gary Cooper plays 'Reb Hollister', a former confederate officer wanted by the law. He meets up with a moron named Weatherby, played by Leif Erickson, who is a U.S. Marshal with no knowledge of firearms. Weatherby is on his way to Dallas to see his fiancee, Tonia Robles, played by Ruth Roman. Senor Robles, Tonia's father, has plenty of men, but they can't seem to be able to keep an eye on his cattle, which are regularly rustled by the Marlow brothers. Will Marlow, played by Raymond Massey, has financed the loan on the Robles estate, making things completely absurd. He even has the power to call for mortgage payments before they're due, simply because he feels like it.

Since Weatherby is a Boston boy who can't fight, since he only became a Marshal so he could visit his fiancee, Tonia, (Just another instance of more plot nonsense. Are we to assume that you only have to pass a written test to get this job? Wait a minute, this guy couldn't pass the written test either.) he switches identities with Reb Hollister, who of course is an expert gunman. Reb takes the liberty of greeting Weatherby's girl with a passionate kiss, while Weatherby looks on like an idiot. Gary Cooper, Hollywood's number one stud, is in fine form here as Reb. Before the movie's done, not only does he take Weatherby's job, he steals his fiancee also, and Ruth Roman as Tonia, falls for him so hard and so fast that she gives chump Leif Erickson the brush-off before the films little more than half over.

There isn't a shred of plot credibility in the whole film, so despite the good cast and lush photography, the film is a dud. And Cooper's character is a complete heel to boot. The film also stars Barbara Payton as Brant Marlow's girl, a beautiful and talented actress who squandered away her chances, unfortunately, by making too many headlines for the wrong reasons. I strongly suggest you pass this one up.

Gone With The Wind is a hopelessly romantic film that has exquisite photography, breath-taking beauty, and a fast moving pace. We follow the central character, Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) from her days just prior to the civil war, when she's a vain and spoiled girl, to the reconstruction years, when she is at last forged into a resolute woman with nerves of steel and tremendous drive to succeed in a world where despair and broken dreams are everywhere.

Scarlett relentlessly pursues Ashley Wilkes, (Leslie Howard) and uses expediency, cunning, and total deception to either win him, be near him, or beguile him into betraying loving feelings for her. Scarlett is intelligent, but her wants and needs are all she thinks about. A cyclone could be whirling over her head and she wouldn't know it. When the war turns against the South after Gettysburg, Scarlett is always shocked to hear... the Yankees are getting closer ... Atlanta will soon fall ... and Lee is on the brink of defeat. You wonder if this woman ever picks up a newspaper. Callous and self absorbed, we wonder if there is a spark of good in her anywhere. But, she remains to help Melanie have her baby, even as the Yankee bombardment rains down all around. Yes, she did stay because of a promis she made to Ashley, but these days, how many people keep their promises?

Rhett Butler, (Clark Gable) falls in love with Scarlett, because she is just like him; strong and ruthless. He's one of the few characters that has Scarlett completely pegged, and he loves to tease her relentlessly. The script of this film is superb. It is full of sharp witt, and classic, rapid-fire exchanges. Butler and Scarlett eventually marry, but after she has a baby, Scarlett closes her bedroom door on him. For all his savvy, Rhett should have been smart enough to pass it off as a mood, but he takes her words too seriously, as firm policy. Years later, when he swoops her off her feet and carries her up the stairs for passionate love-making, Scarlett is all smiles the next day. Real proof he should have done it long before.

Ashley Wilkes, (Leslie Howard) is the long suffering gentleman who has Scarlett stalking him relentlessly throughout the film. Even her "mammy" knows it, when she says, "Miss Scarlett, you're just going to that place because you know Mr. Wilkes will be there ... and you're going to sneak up on him like a spider!" Scarlett works him over thoroughly whenever she gets him alone, and usually milks him for at least one "I love you" and a kiss. But he keeps telling her over and over he's not the man for her, that he can't match her courage or strength. Scarlett just isn't listening or just can't accept that he maybe right. Wilkes knows what kind of man he is. He's gentle, kind, and a bit of a softy. But not a coward. He commands troops during the war as a Confederate officer and has the respect of his men. But he's right, he needs a woman like himself, and that woman is Melanie, who is kind and gentle just like he is.

Melanie, (Olivia de Havilland) is a wonderful person, and in some strange way, is as remarkable as Scarlett, but with different powers. She is completely unassuming, has no aires, thinks the best of everyone, and hasn't a vain drop of blood in her body. Scarlett tries to steal her husband thoughout the story, and most know it, but whenever Melanie sees Scarlett, she treats her with love, friendship and warmth every time. Of all the people in the world, Rhett Butler respects and admires Melanie more than anyone else. Even Scarlett cannot resist Melanie's good will. She may grumble against her on the side, but when face to face with Melanie she never ceases to be amazed at how well she is treated by her rival ... and can't help loving her and liking her in return.

There is tragedy throughout the film, but Scarlett and Rhett suffer greatly towards the end. There's so much heartbreak and harsh words, it's too much for their love to take. Butler is more introspective than Scarlett. He knows the war is a lost cause, knows it's foolish to get involved, but he has a conscience and joins up in the last year saying. "If I take a bullet I'll call myself a fool for getting into it ... but this is something I must do."

Scarlett is tough and strong, never more so than when she shoots a Yankee deserter at point-blank range on the staircase, with powder burns visible on the soldier's face. Even Melanie knew there was no other way, and backed her up. At the end, after getting knocked down with yet another disappointment, Scarlett won't quit. We know ... she'll never quit. "I can't think about this now," she'll pout. "I'll think about it tomorrow!" A good lesson for us all

Mystery writer Cornelius Leyden (Peter Lorre) attends a dinner party where he is told about the recent discovery of the body of a master criminal by Colonel Haki, chief of the local police. When Leyden learns that the criminal, Dimitrios Makropoulos, avoided capture for years, and engaged in everything from smuggling, blackmail, murder, and political assassination, he becomes intrigued, and begins an odyssey which takes him to many exotic locals in a bid to meet the actual people who dealt with, and managed to survive, encounters with the ruthless Dimitrios.

Leyden meets Irana Preveya, who met Dimitrios when he barged into her apartment to seize a crust of bread when he was on the verge of starvation. In flashback, we see how her story unfolds. She begins by saying, "I have known many men, but I've only been afraid of one ... Demitrios."

Then Leyden meets Grodek, a master spy, (superbly played by Victor Francen). Grodek reveals how years ago he employed Dimitrios to steal a naval chart of some important mine fields. In flashback, we see how he and Dimitrios duped Bulic, a short, pudding faced government employee, (played by Steven Geray) by first causing him to fall into debt, then by coercing him to steal the chart from an office down the hall from his own post. It was almost too much watching these two suave criminals befuddle this kindly little man.

All the while, Leyden accidentally encounters a stout gentleman in trains, restaurants, and other places. But it's no accident. The man is Mr. Peters, played by Sydney Greenstreet. Greenstreet is interested in Leyden, because Leyden is interested in Dimitrios. They soon combine forces as the films surges towards a gripping climax.

This is one of the great films of the 40's. Zachary Scott, in his 1st film, gives an oscar caliber performance as the cunning, charming, and totally ruthless Dimitrios Makropolus. There are other great performances all around, and this may be the only film where Peter Lorre gets to play himself. His character is complex. At first Leyden seems to have a cavalier interest in Dimitrios, but he has a drive and perseverence that are not at once evident. Greenstreet is masterful as the charming and courteous Mr. Peters. Yet, just below the surface of his polite veneer, he is full of vengeance. This film is a must for those who love mystery and international intrigue.

In this eerie and gothic thriller, Zachary, (David Gunn) a vampire tormented by his nightly existence, seeks to destroy all the undead in his bloodline. In the city of Bucharest, he tracks down the master vampire known as "Ash" (Jonathan Morris) and plots to penetrate Ash's heavily defended fortress. Ash becomes enamoured with Sofia, (Kirsten Cerre) a beautiful young pianist, lures her to his decadent "Club Muse" and kidnaps her. Zachary must find a way to rescue her and destroy Ash and his disciples at the same time.

Vampire Journals takes a slight detour from the excellent Full Moon "Subspecies" series which features the master vampire Radu, and his stubborn and defiant disciple, Michelle. This film has better production values and a far larger cast than any of the 4 subspecies movies, and rivals them in quality. All of these films are highly under-rated, and are far superior to most of the vampire movies that have been made in the states in the past 20 years. This would include the Eddie Murphy stinker, Carpenter's "Vampires", and even rivals "Interview With a Vampire".

Vampire Journals is moody and gothic. Just watching Ash walking thru the night with his deadly mistress, Cassandra, (Ilinka Goya) is a treat. Cassandra'a seduction and ravishing of a young man near a cemetery gate is erotic and chilling. Kirsten Cerre is beautiful and perfect as the chaste and strong-willed Sofia who fights Ash to the last in an effort to save her soul. David Gunn's performance, full of brooding, loneliness, and submerged fury toward Ash and his disciples, sets the tone that drives the film forward.

Ted Nicolai, the director, can't resist being tacky and excessive with the blood and gore from time to time, which is even more of a problem with him in the Subspecies films, but he doesn't do too much damage here. Nicolai is better at characterization and developing vampire culture than he is at plot development, but there's enough of a story here to keep us interested.

This is a good vampire film, and a little bit like Hammer in some respects, though much better than anything Christopher Lee did after Horror of Dracula. And this film crushes most of the vampire trash that's been made in the states in recent years.

There has been way to much chatter about how beautiful this film is with its sumptuous sets, costumes, and magnificent photography. On the surface this looks like another gangster film, this time taking place in Shanghai. But of course, it isn't. The gangster scenario is just the backdrop really.

Shuisheng, a boy of 14, has come to the city to serve the haughty and beautiful Xiao Jingbao, the nightclub singing moll of Tang, head of the most powerful gang in Shanghai.

Shuisheng's uncle is a riot as he gives the boy a whacky set of instructions on how to be a proper servant to snobby Xiao, wonderfully played by Gong Li. "Call her 'Miss'. Follow her wherever she goes, not to far behind, and not to close. That's the rule. Hold her coat in your left hand and her hat in the right, but don't let the coat drag on the floor. That's the rule. Got it?" And the Shuisheng replies, "Got it." However, after "Miss" delights in calling him a country bumpkin, and chews him out a couple of times, (And why not, Shuisheng can't tell a red dress from a green one.) the kid starts looking for the exit. When his uncle tells him, "When she rings for you, stop everything (yes, everything) and go to her. Got it?" His reply this time is, "I want to leave." Bad move, uncle is most displeased.

In many ways, Shuisheng is the most inscrutable character in the movie. He's got a real poker face, and you'll probably have a tough time deciding if he's an idiot, or a sharp kid who's observing things closely and learning fast. This is the heart of the film, the relationship between the boy and the woman. Eventually, the boy will find out the self-important, hip swinging Xiao Jingbao is miserable. She is the beautiful songbird hopelessly trapped in a world where she is bathed in luxury by the ruthless Tang, with no hope of freedom.

The boy's whole attitude changes when he realizes this, and the question the film poses from here is ... what, if anything, can he do about it? If this was an American film, (and I'd love to see such a version) probably plenty, but director Yimou Zhang is a cynical man with a dark outlook on life. All his films have downbeat endings, and this one is no exception. What really bothers me though, is that events take place that result in a complete shift in setting half way through the film, and that's always a dangerous move in the cinema. And this abrupt shift comes at a time when things are just getting interesting in the nightclub, when Shuisheng realizes "Miss" is very unhappy. He might have been able to help her in the big city and spacious confines of the nightclub, but marooned on an island, there's not much he can do. This is a good film, but I would have liked to see the plot move in a different direction in the second half.

Wonder Bar is a very strange movie. The plot is ridiculous, the acting is awful, and Busby Berkeley's musical numbers sink into the quicksand in a vain bid to bail this film out. Yes, it's true, there is a musical number in this bomb called, "Going To Heaven On A Mule". Not only is it incredibly tacky, it's a lousy piece of song writing to boot.

There isn't much of a plot. Kay Francis, who author Mick LaSalle claims is 5'9", (Come to think of it, she is sitting down most of the time. We musn't see her towering over Al Jolson and Dick Powell.) is wildly in love with Ricardo Cortez, (Don't judge her harshly, her husband looks old enough to be her grandfather.) as it sultry Dolores del Rio. You've got to see these two women falling all over Cortez to believe it. Jolson and Powell are pining for de Rio, but they're invisible to her. And that's the whole movie. There's some goofy comic relief with Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert that's no worse than the main story line.

This is Busby Berkeley's worst piece of work going away. I can't believe this is the same man who did "42nd Street", "Dames", and "Footlight Parade". It's just not possible. Wonder Bar isn't an easy movie to find, but it you want to see a bad film that's really weird, watch this one.

How would you like to go to a hotel and find out James Cagney is the #1 bell-hop, and Joan Blondell is your blond chamber-maid? That's where we start in "Blonde Crazy", and things get wild in a hurry. Cagney plays con-man Bert Harris, and he falls hard for the new chamber-maid, Ann Roberts, played by Joan Blondell. Peggy, another cute chambermaid, warns Ann to stay away from Bert. Ann says, "He can't be interested in me, I'm not important and I have no money." Peggy shoots back, "Oh yeah ... maybe you've got something else he wants." Bert makes a pass at Ann, and get his face slapped hard. When he next sees her he says, "I'm so stuck on you, I wouldn't mind getting slugged by you every day." Ann says, "Oh yeah," smiles, and hauls off and hits him again. Hold on, she's just warming up. Middle aged Guy Kibbee falls hard for Ann, and asks Bert, "What do you know about the blond chambermaid?" Bert smiles and sells the chump a bottle of booze at triple the price, knowing Kibbee will pay because he's been told, "It's the only stuff the blond chamber-maid drinks." After Ann and Bert rip off Kibbee big time, they head for the city and tangle with super chisler "Dapper Dan Barker", played to the hilt by Louis Calhern. Things get rough, with the con-artists ripping off one another, and thumbing their noses at the sap whose been taken at clean-out time.

The dialogue is outrageous, and Ann wallops Bert a few more times along the way. Blondell slaps Cagney when he's bad, and slaps him when he's good, only a little softer then and with a big smile, just to let him know she still loves him. At one point Bert starts to walk in on Ann when she's in the tub. She shrieks and yells, "Hey, what's the big idea? I'm taking a bath." To which he cracks, "Oh yeah ... move over!" This is a great film. The only problem is that the ending is way to somber and dark in comparison to the breezy, good-natured tempo of the rest of the film. But this is one you've got to see. Blondell and Cagney are wonderful together.

For years after he played Dracula in "Horror of Dracula", Christopher Lee refused to return in the role. Little did we realize he was doing us a favor. In between, Hammer made two superb vampire films, "Brides of Dracula" and "Kiss of The Vampire". Lee should have stayed home a little longer. "Dracula, Prince of Darkness", is a bomb of the first rank. The film crawls forward with two unappealing English couples "touring" the forests and mountains in the area near Dracula's castle. Suzan Farmer is languid and pristine in her role, generating no sex appeal and less acting ability. Francis Mathews is tedious as a "Cary Grant" sounding hero who does his best to put up with a wife and friends he has absolutely nothing in common with. As usual, Andrew Keir is insufferable as a loud and pompous self-important priest named Father Sandor. Sandor isn't afraid of Dracula, or anything else for that matter, so why should the film audience be concerned either? The script and plot are awful. In scene after scene, Dracula is made to look totally inept and a complete fool. In the dead of night, Mathews and Farmer, who don't know a thing about vampires, find themselves trapped by Dracula, his female disciple, and a loyal servant in the castle. Yet, they manage to escape in a sequence which is completely absurd. Nothing can save this movie from itself. Terence Fischer's direction is mediocre, Lee makes lots of faces but we've already learned early on he's no match for Andrew Keir as Father Sandor, who can't be bothered being afraid of anything, and who likes bullying people around ... including the vampires.

The opening scene of this film shows Norma Shearer and stuffy Herbert Marshall dressed up as insects for a costume party. This is the highlight of the film - it's all down hill from there. Marshall marries Shearer, even though she plays a woman whose been around the block a few times. Very big of him. Years pass, then he starts worrying about whether Norma is going to start going astray, especially when handsome Robert Montgomery shows up. As the film drags on, Marshall becomes increasingly irritable and short-tempered, while Shearer stands on her head in an effort to please him and live up to the super high pedestal that he has placed her on. The whole business has no credibility. Herbert Marshall made a living in the early 30's playing guys who comes out second to studs like Clark Gable and the like. And so he should. Marshall is a homely stuffed shirt in film after film, and there's no reason why he should ever be the first choice of the gorgeous actresses he played opposite during this time period.

Barbara Stanwyck as Lora Hart is having a little trouble getting a job as a nurse in a big hospital. Seems she needs a high school diploma. That's no problem for Lora, she just shows middle-aged Dr. Bell (Charles Winninger) a little leg and a big smile, and everything is set. She soon becomes chums with another girl with some nice legs of her own, Maloney, played by Joan Blondell. The girls are in nursing school in the hospital, though it looks more like reform school. Be in bed by 10 p.m., no boy friends allowed, and work, work, work. The pace is fast and the interns are hot on the make, but Lora falls for a bootlegger when he shows up for treatment with a bullet in his arm. No problem, we just won't mention that on the medical report. The girls get an outside assignment taking care of some little girls who are slowly being starved to death for insurance money by "Nick", (Clark Gable!) Lora stands up to Nick as only Barbara Stanwyck can when she's steaming mad. No problem for Nick, though, he clocks her a couple of times, (the camera cuts discreetly when Lora takes it on the chin) and down she goes. There's a chiseling doctor Dr. Ranger in on the scheme, a real low-life type wonderfully played by Ralf Harolde, whoever he is. But have no fear, Lora and Maloney will set things right somehow. This outrageous film is highly recommended. A must for Stanwyck and Blondell fans.

In this dreadfully tedious and incredibly over-rated film, a handful of giant mollusks somehow manage to emerge from the Salton Sea to terrorize a naval base and the meager civilian population living nearby.

Pudgy Tim Holt, as Cdr. Twillinger, waddles around scowling at everyone if there not doing things "by the book", then spends five minutes crawling on the floor looking for a little girl's ladybug. The little girl's mommy is gorgeous Gail Mackenzie, so we'll let this minor lapse in character consistency go.

What we can't excuse is a film that is terribly paced, by being constantly plagued by lengthy and dull sequences involving meetings and leisurely dinners at a time when the action and suspense should be picking up and driving the film toward a powerful conclusion. There are some fairly good attack sequences involving the mollusks (which really look like giant caterpillars) "absorbing" a few swimmers and divers, but these scenes are always followed by interminable interludes in which Han Conreid, as the chief scientist, explains at GREAT length why they're all in extreme danger.

Then there's that sticky stuff that's always found on or near the bodies. Sometimes it's pasty white, sometimes it looks like bubble-bath, and sometimes it looks like something else again. Whatever. Aside from being a bore, there's never any real sense that the Mollusks are going to amount to a serious threat, AND THEY DON'T!

"It Conquered The World", made a year earlier, and with a similar title, is a far superior film in terms of plot, script, character development and pacing! I suggest you compare for yourself.

"Dracula's Daughter" may have concluded the Universal horror cycle that had begun with "Dracula" in 1931, and it is an unusual film. Gloria Holden portrays Countess Zeleska, a vampire who journeys to England to find out if her father, Count Dracula, has indeed been destroyed. Ms. Holden plays the part of Dracula's Daughter with haunted eyes and an eerie dignity which reveal her vampire existence with subtle power. Countess Zeleska yearns to be free of her bloodlust so she can lead a normal life. As she roams the fog shrouded streets of London in search of victims, it becomes increasingly apparent just what a lonely woman she is.

Irving Pichel is superb as the vampire's servant, Sandor. Sandor is an evil and calculating man who knows long before the Countess realizes it herself, that there is no release from a vampire's desire to take the blood of the living. He taunts her without mercy when her piano playing culminates with a melody which reflects her unearthly existence.

Otto Kruger gives an irritating performance as the distinquished psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffrey Garth. Garth is smug and egotistical, and fails miserably both as a doctor and a man in scene after scene. At one point he encourages Countess Zaleska to put herself to a test, then walks out on her at the pivotal moment when she is prepared to take the test. His visit to her was in a professional capacity, so he should not have left to see another patient upon receiving a phone call. It could also be argued that Garth caused the death of a beautiful young girl who is bitten by the Countess, by subjecting her to a demanding psychological procedure. Garth's arrogance is apparent in Transylvania, when he persuades a coach driver to take him to Borgo Pass for five pounds, and assures the man he'll be safe because he's going to sit with him. This is a serious flaw in the film's plot, because the script allows Garth to brush off the dangers of vampires in Transylvania, and makes complete fools out of the peasants at the inn, who have feared the Draculas for many years. However, the complex triangle involving the Countess, Sandor and Garth is the strength of the film, and make it well worth watching.