This blog was begun Monday night April 27th, and completed the following day :
We're sticking with Corman for the time being, going through his directorial credits to see what sounds good, then searching Youtube to find out if the chosen title is available. Tonight we found "The Undead"(1957), a horror film with Shakespearean dialogue that begins in the Modern Era.
A psychiatrist solicits a prostitute named "Diana" (Pamela Duncan), not for the usual reason but to put her under regressive hypnosis. He and his mentor believe in the concept of reincarnation, and in the possibility that a soul's previous life can have an effect on it's present one. In this case they are studying why Diana has become a streetwalker. The shrink puts her under and........trizzle, trazzle, trozzle, trome......she is sent back in time, to France in the Middle Ages. Her name is now Helene. She finds herself locked in a dungeon, accused of witchcraft and scheduled to be executed the following day.
She is innocent of the charges, and in order to escape she pretends to seduce her guard, then knocks him cold and unlocks her cell. On the road that night, she comes across a gravedigger driving a hearse. I have to break in here to say that you are gonna love this guy! He sings while he works, taking nursery rhymes and rewording them with macabre lyrics. The songs are a riot - you've gotta hear them for yourself, lol. At any rate, he refuses to give Helene a ride, so she sneaks into the hearse and hides herself in a coffin which......(ahem)........already has another passenger (jiminy christmas!).
She finds safety at an Inn, where the proprietor knows nothing of the Witch Trials, but then she is visited in her room by a Good Witch, "Meg Maud" (what a great name!). Meg Maud has the Witches' Look, right down to her beaked nose and pointy chin, both made of Silly Putty. Hooray for the inventiveness of Roger Corman! Meg Maud informs Helene that she has been set up by a truly evil witch named Livia (played by "50 Foot Woman" Allison Hayes). We see Livia plotting away with her Imp (Billy Barty), planning Helene's downfall so she can impress The Devil (Richard Devon in an ingenious portrayal). Livia and Barty transform themselves into butterflies, cats and birds to infiltrate Helene's space and monitor her conversations. This is a particularly good special effect for Corman, considering his usual low budget. The Gallant Knight Pendragon (Richard Garland) is unaware of this deception. He has set out to rescue Helene, having been told of her innocence by Meg Maud, but now he is being sidetracked by the beautiful Livia, who swears eternal devotion to him.
Back in the 20th century, inside the psychiatrist's office, the shrinks realise something is wrong. Helene is in double jeopardy, with the Witchfinder and Livia both on her trail. She is due to be executed at dawn, only hours away. If Livia discovers her whereabouts she will die, which might also kill Diana, the woman on the couch and Helene's current incarnation. The head psychiatrist decides to take action, regressing himself back to Helene's time so he can rescue her. In Medieval France he becomes a Knight and enjoins the Gallant Pendragon to help him save Helene. Now, The Devil is no slouch. He's aware of the shrink's time traveling escapade, but being a believer in fair play (yeah right), he offers the Good Guys a bargain : Helene can be spared execution and live out her natural life, as long as she signs over her soul, meaning that none of her future lives will take place, including that of Diana who is laying on the psychiatrist's couch. Or......Helene can go through with the execution and by dying, allow her future selves to have life. Thus Diana will live.
Livia is of course eager for the latter option. She detests Helene and wants Pendragon for herself. She couldn't care less about Diana in the 20th Century. Pendragon beseeches Helene to choose life so they can be together, but his partner, the Psychiatrist/Knight tells Helene there is a third way, if only she will ride away with him. In truth, he's not sure of this. He's trying to save both Helene and Diana but The Devil may have him beat.
The sun is cresting over the hillside as all gathered wait for Helene's decision. She has only moments to choose. The Devil smirks, finding the whole thing a riot.
Okay, folks. I loved this movie! It's entirely different from all the other Corman films we've seen. There's no Weird Stuff and the dialogue is written in Olde English, so as with Shakespeare you've gotta pay attention to make sure you're following the plot. But, it's got a great sense of humor and the actors throw themselves into the drama with everything they've got. Most of them are decent Shakespeareans too, especially Pamela Duncan as Helene. I have been so impressed with the dialogue in Corman's movies that I finally looked up his screenwriter, a guy named Charles B. Griffith. This is the man who wrote the Formal Alien Conversations in "Not Of This Earth", the Philosophically Justified World Domination Rant of the Crab Monsters in that picture, and now, the humorous yet authentic sounding interplay of the 16th century characters in "The Undead". He's a genius in my book and should get equal credit for Corman's success, at least in the early movies.
I'm gonna give "The Undead" Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's one Corman film I could watch again and again, like a stage play. The print I saw was passable but I'm gonna see if there's a restored copy available on Amazon. Watch it and have a blast, highly recommended! //////
Elizabeth, I saw the picture of your PRS. That is one beautiful guitar! I remember when you bought it, way back in.......2012 or 2013? I know it was a long time ago. Now, didn't you first try a PRS when you did some recording at your friend Paul's studio? That was also way back in time, but I seem to remember some pics of you playing a green one. Maybe it belonged to Paul. But yeah, I remember you liking the PRS sound and getting one for yourself. Man, I'd love to have one (maybe in the future). The clean sound alone is incredible on those guitars. They are super versatile. Maybe in an upcoming song you can record with it, overdub a lead or harmony or something. Just a thought, but yeah.....it's a beauty and I'm glad you got a good deal on it! :):)
That's all for moment. I'm gonna go for my CSUN walk and I'll see you at the Usual Time.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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