Last night, hijinx was the name of the game in "The Phantom Light"(1935), an early effort from England's Michael Powell of Powell & Pressburger fame. We took a one-night break from Westerns, and you might recall if you've been reading the blog for a long time that we did a P&P retrospective back in 2014 at the CSUN Cinematheque (man, do I miss it!). "The Phantom Light" was not included in the series and I can see why Professor Tim left it out, as the plot is insubstantial, but on the whole, it's still a lot of fun. The premise is your basic "Old Dark House" mystery, except the house in this case is a lighthouse off the coast of Wales. Keeper "Sam Higgins" (Gordon Harker), with 25 years under his belt, takes the job at a lighthouse that everyone says is haunted. He ain't skeered, though, because he's got a one liner for every occurance and of course people speaking Welsh are used for comic relief. When he arrives at the registry, a reporter (Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople fame) tries to get the scoop on the lighthouse, but Higgins has been ordered to remain mum because the previous keeper has been murdalized. A cutie named "Alice Bright" (Binnie Hale) is hanging out at the bar. She wants to see the lighthouse also, because she thinks the reporter is handsome. She ends up stowing away on his rowboat when he attempts to go in unannounced. But his boat takes on water and he has to call for help. Sam Higgins reluctantly throws him a line, but when he and Binnie Hale get inside, her clothes are soaking wet. All Higgins has are his own clothes to offer her, and of course the pants are too long. This gives director Powell - and Binnie Hale - the excuse to shorten the pant legs, which she cuts off with a pair of scissors. Now they are almost Hot Pants, which means for the rest of the movie she gets to show off her dancer's legs. Not that anyone was complaining. Binnie Hale was a British song and dance gal first and foremost, and boy does Michael Powell like those camera angles!
There isn't much Phantom Light to speak of, but there is a guy who's scared out of his wits to be there. He's the previous keeper's assistant (Reginald Tate), and he's stark raving mad. Then there's also the murderer, another assistant who's tied up and confined to his bunk. Why hasn't he been imprisoned? Because he's nuttier than a fruitcake, too. He swears he didn't do it, that instead it was "the Phantom Light!" Pending trial, he's not guilty by reason of insanity.
The plot boils down to something not unlike one of our 60 minute Westerns. The Phantom Light turns out to be a "wreckers light". Criminals used to shine homing lights at merchant ships from rocky shorelines. The Captain would think it was the lighthouse beacon and sail in, then crash against the rocks. The crooks would raid the ship for it's goods and treasure while everyone aboard was drowning. In this case, they're sinking ships for the insurance money, but I mean - what is the deal with criminals? They literally think of everything. Who else would think of shining a light to crash a ship into the rocks?
But most of the movie, as per Michael Powell's camera, is about Binnie Hale's legs, and about the one-liners Gordon Harker throws at her. Still, it's a ton of fun and highly recommended. Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Phantom Light". The picture is very good. ////
The previous night, we went way back to the beginning of our love for B-Westerns, with Bob Steele, the first early cowboy I was a fan of. I bought a dvd of Steele's "Paroled to Die" in 2004 when I was still living with my Mom. That's before Youtube existed! My goodness gracious. I don't remember how I became a fan of Bob Steele. it's possible that I got interested in early Westerns, and his was the first name that popped up on Google. Well anyhow, I liked Bob Steele in "Paroled to Die". I also saw him in other movies over the years, the most notable being "Of Mice and Men". But he didn't hook me in the way that Charles Starrett did fifteen years later in the "Durango Kid" series, which is when I really became a fan of the 60 minute Western. In Steele's case, I think it was his screen presence. While Bob Steele is a great cowboy in every other way, he is only 5'5" tall. And when he's going up against all the classic Wild West bad guys, its harder to accept that he would win. In his early movies, he almost looks like a high school kid.
Anyhow, this is the first time I've seen him in years, and I have to admit he was great as "Lightnin' Crandall"(1937). Crandall is the fastest gun in Texas, but he's tired of his reputation. Every loser who thinks himself fast on the draw is looking to become a notch on Lightnin's belt. He's tired of being challenged, and he's waiting to draw a slug himself, for he knows that if he keeps on slingin', he's bound to eventually meet with someone faster.
So, he moves to Kansas, wanting to live the life of a Tenderfoot. He takes on a new identity, calling himself "Steve Crandall", but when he gets there, he meets "Sheila Shannon" (Lois January), whose Dad is in the middle of a range war. Charles King is after Sheila's brother "Tommy Shannon", who used to play bass for Johnny Winter. King wants to place Tommy under citizen's arrest for shooting up his ranch, but he's willing to let the matter go if Sheila will marry him. Imagine Charles King trying to come off as the victim! Hello! Are you joking? Seriously though, this is Prime King, his most significant role yet. Steve Crandall falls in love with Sheila too, and because Bob Steele is so small, and Lois January looks 14, it's like two junior high school kids having a romance, especially when Bob smiles. That's what makes it hard to view him as a Western hero.
However, he is super fast on the draw, and his horse ridin' skills are superior. He is in every way a top cowboy, if they just wouldn't put him in those punchouts because they're ludicrous. This one comes down to Steele vs. King, with Earl Dwire thrown in, and I mean, c'mon. Just have them shoot it out. But the movie is about Steve not wanting to be a gunfighter, and it does have a non-violent premise compared to other Westerns. Sheila Shannon's Dad doesn't want her marrying Charles King (marrying Charles King?!), but she wants to avoid violence and is willing to do it to stop the range war, even though she abhors him (that's more like it). We've seen Lois January a few times now, and it must be said that she's one of the all-time Western sweethearts.
So what's the verdict? Should we give ol' Bob Steele another shot? I say heck yeah. You can never have too many Good Guys, and he can't help it if he's 5'5" (and I'm no giant myself). I don't know if he'll take over from Tim McCoy and Tom Tyler, but "Lightnin' Crandall" gets Two Big Thumbs Up.
That's all I know for tonight, and I hope you had a nice weekend. I'm listening to a Soft Machine "best of", a band I'm not very familiar with. They sound very late 60's and psychedelic, but Canterbury. I like 'em and I send you Tons of Love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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