Last night's movie was "The Vampire's Ghost"(1945) another flick we've seen before, and this time I didn't have to guess; I knew it in the first two minutes. No matter, it's a good one, but I've noticed something about the various genres of the black and white era: while the studios made enough Westerns to last the modern-day Youtube viewer a lifetime, and enough crime flicks, mysteries and Noirs to keep you busy for many years, with Horror and Sci-Fi, they only made about a year's worth (if that much; more like 6-8 months apiece) before you gotta start scouring the barrel and then watch re-rons. Why the relative dearth of horror and sci-fi? In comparison to Westerns, I can understand the ratio. Westerns are good for general audiences and sell lots of kids tickets too, for matinees, whereas Horror might not be for everyone. But they also made a shipload of crime flicks that kids wouldn't have been admitted to. So again, why the short shrift on Sci-Fi and Horror? Also, here's something I just found out, via Wiki: did you know that the Hayes Office put a moratorium on Horror movies in the late '30s? I couldn't find the particulars in the Wiki article (duration, exact dates, etc.) but they put the kibosh on a ton of stuff, so maybe they didn't like all the monster movies that were coming out at the time.
Here's another question for ya: whatever happened to Monster Movies? I don't mean general horror, or even psycho movies with guys like Freddy Krueger and Jason, but good old-fashioned Monsters. I mean, is that a great word, or what? Monster! What the hell is a Monster, anyway? I mean, yeah, I know what one is (Frankenstein, the quintessential), but I'm talking about the word Monster. Who came up with it? I think I like it because it has 'ster on the end, which aligns it with hipster, prankster, lobster, mobster (c'mon, think of some more). But yeah, the whole 'ster thing is pertinent; it makes Monsters sound cool. But I still don't understand why they didn't make a zillion horror flicks like they did with the other genres.
Anyhow, to our movie: English actor John Abbott stars as "Fallon", a casino owner in a central African colony who happens to be a vampire. At first, nobody notices. Only the natives suspect him, because after he moved to the jungle and opened his nightclub, dead bodies began appearing on the roadsides with teeth marks in their necks.
The white administrators in town scoffed at the vampire claims ("primitive superstition"!), but the native drums kept beating, and their message was "watch out for Fallon"! Safari leader "Roy Hendrick" (Charles Gordon) likes Fallon, and doesn't believe the claim either. He's seen what a wild animal can do to a human body, even drain it of blood. But when Fallon starts seducing his girlfriend "Julie" (Peggy Stewart), he likes him a little less. Then Roy finds the antique wooden box containing dirt from Fallon's grave, which he needs to stay alive. Earlier in the film, there was a sailor, "Captain Barrett" (Roy Barcroft) who lost his money and his boat to Fallon in what he believed was a rigged card game. A punchout ensued, and Fallon won because he's 500 years old and vampire strong. But Captain Barrett wanted revenge and came back later to challenge Fallon to a one-hand-takes-all card game. He rigged the deck and won, with the help of "LIsa" (Adele Mara), Fallon's exotic dancer. Captain Barrett got all his money and his boat back, but Fallon then killed him and Lisa. Now the jungle drums are pounding double time. The natives are scared witless, and Roy Hendrick's dad and the village priest intervene on Roy's behalf, because Fallon now has Roy in a trance and is turning his girlfriend into a vampire.
The priest takes Roy to a church to pray, and that breaks the spell. But Fallon still has Julie.
It's very atmospheric, with good photography and drumming, and a mesmerising performance by John Abbott as Fallon the Vampire, who must lay in full moonlight with grave dirt under his head to be restored. Another thing we liked about it is that - while we love Count Dracula and that type of vampire - this movie dares to be different, showing the human side of the Toothmeister, with no special effects or bats. Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Vampire's Ghost." The picture is razor sharp. ////
The night before we had "House of Mystery"(1934), a pre-Code mashup of genres including adventure movie, thriller comedy and old dark house whodunit. It begins in flashback mode in India, where archaeologist "John Prendergast" (Clay Clement) - who's turned drunken and gold crazy after being initiated in cult rituals of the goddess Kali - is kicked out of a bar after spouting off to some fellow explorers who condemn him for abandoning science. Enraged, he storms back to the cult, where his lover "Chandra" (Joyzell Joyner) awaits him. Inside the sanctum, he blasphemes the cult's Hindu leader, which results in the leader putting a curse on him and all the archaeologists on his team: "Whoever seek gold from Kali shall die!"
Flash forward 20 years, and that's exactly what has happened. Everyone in Prendergast's party has died since then. Only Pren (as he now known) remains alive, but he is crippled and confined to a wheelchair. Two of his associates' surviving relatives have located him and are demanding their share of the gold loot he took with him from India. An old biddy named "Hyacinth Potter" (Mary Foy) gets a lawyer, who contacts the other surviving relatives, including a lesbian couple (remember, this is a pre-Code movie) and they track Pren down. He now lives in America with Chandra, in a (you guessed it) Creepy Old Mansion. Pren admits to having the gold, but tells the others and their lawyer that it's cursed. "If you want it, I won't withhold it from you, but I suggest you spend one night in this house before you accept your shares, because the gold comes with a price. I've already paid, as you can see," he says, pointing to his crippled legs.
He's trying to show them its not worth it, but old lady Hyacinth wants her gold, and no amount of protest by her wimp of a human-dictionary husband (a total nerd) is gonna stop her. In his dictionary, her picture would be next to "Harridan". Looking for guidance, the lesbians suggest a seance (pronounced see-ahnce). The youger gal "Stella" (Fritzi Ridgeway) performs it, using Pocohontas as her spirit guide. But in the middle of the seance, the lights go out, and her companion "Mrs. Carfax" (Dale Fuller) is dead of a broken neck. There's a gorilla in the corner of the room, but he couldn't have done it; he's stuffed. You know, taxidermied.
We're in Ten Little Indians territory now. One of the potential inheritors is an amorous insurance salesman who has the hots for Pren's nurse "Ella" (Verna Hillie). The salesman is good for some "who wants to buy a policy" yucks. This is where the flick turns into a light comedy. Someone else gets murdalised and by now, a trio of coppers show up. But these guys make the Keystones look sharp-witted; they're dumber than The Three Stooges and led by a skinny, tall drainpipe of a detective, who has a big schnozz and speaks in "listen, see?" wisecracks. But he ain't never gonna solve the case. Also in the house is a plumber, who for some reason is working around the clock. But he's so dumb he can't even form a coherent sentence. He can't possibly be the murderer.
So it really must be as Pren says: the deaths are the result of the relatives' lust for gold and are related to the Kali curse. Hang on a sec.....there's another gorilla coming. He just walked through the wall from a secret panel and - look out! Man, stop doing that, you big ape! You're scaring me. Who's running this show, anyway? Is it Pren? It can't be; he's crippled. Is it one of the surviving relatives? Or is it Kali, the six-armed demon goddess?
"House of Mystery" is one of the better films of this type and is especially recommended for its humor, especially from the skinny copper who's a riot. Two Big Thumbs Up, the picture is soft but watchable. ////
That's all for this evening. Are you going to any Halloween parties this weekend? Me, I'm just trying to obtain a copy of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" from the Libe. That's an annual tradition of mine; it cannot be Halloween without Charlie Brown (actually, ya gotta have "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad", too. I watch that and Great Pumpkin every year.) My blogging music is "Zeit" by Tangerine Dream, late night is "Rienzi" by Wagner. I hope you've had a nice Friday night, and I send you Tons of Love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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