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Monster from Green Hell (1957)
Early 1950s Saturday matinée classic
I just finished viewing a DVD copy of this film, which was the first sci-fi film I ever saw at 10 years old. For those of us who grew up on black & white movies, and don't demand everything be in color, this is still camp and memorable. I guarantee you'll never forget the wasps!
Jim Davis and comrades trek through Africa in search of their missing irradiated wasps, now giants. Stock footage of native attack was perhaps the best ever filmed in black & white.
A note about the female lead, Barbara Turner, an accomplished actress who appeared in many TV anthology show dramas, but few movies. She obviously knew this wasn't going to be her best moment from the very beginning. She is cute, however, and was the wife of Vic Morrow and the mother of Jennifer Jason Leigh.
The wasp models were created by veteran modeler Wah Chang and could have been better animated by stop-motion animator Gene Warren. Where was Ray Harryhausen when they needed him?
The Lady in Scarlet (1935)
Witty little who-done-it
Who killed Albert J. Sayre? Another witty gem from Chesterfield. The dialog between sleuth Reginald Denny and his "secretary" Patricia Farr (who died at age 35) is every bit as good as that between Nick and Nora Charles in "The Thin Man" series. They certainly have an interesting relationship. Unfortunately, Ms Farr looks nothing like Myrna Loy. Sayre's daughter, Julia, however, is played by the very beautiful Dorothy Revier. Lew Kelly does his slightly dimwitted slow burn as Police Inspector Trainey. There are plenty of suspects. It's a well-kept secret who done it right up to the end. You'll just have to guess.
Murder at Glen Athol (1936)
Slick little murder mystery
If you purchase the DVD, it will say this film was produced in 1932. It's immediately obvious that this slick production was not that early a film. Produced in 1936 by Invincible, this murder-in-the-mansion mystery, in the Philo Vance mold, is very well staged. John Miljan, who would go on to a long career as a supporting actor, here has the lead as detective-mystery writer Bill Holt, aided by his befuddled ex-boxer sidekick James Burtis. There's three killings to solve and plenty of suspects. Irene Ware has the female lead, but is much too beautiful to be guilty. Holt's obvious interest in her testifies to her character. (Whatever happened to Irene Ware who had an all too brief career in the 30s anyhow?) The remaining characters all had motives. The pace is very procedural, as you won't form any real sympathy for the victims, but moves along nicely, much like a Perry Mason mystery. This is no house-bound production that takes place all in the mansion (what you might expect if it was a 1932 film), but moves about lively, and contains some nice unexpected action scenes. The plot is good, Miljan is very good, and Irene Ware is very beautiful. What more could you want?
Murder at Midnight (1931)
All too routine
The DVD case says this is a Tiffany picture, so I was expecting an interesting presentation. The credits don't mention Tiffany, laying the blame instead on Amity Pictures. The film looks good, advanced cinematography for the times. The 1931 audio is lousy. Other than the obvious charms of the beautiful Alice White, who plays the maid we'd all like to have, there is no good reason to seek out this old stage play about murder in the mansion. Clara Blandick has the plum role as old Aunt Julia, foil for deadpan Robert Elliott's Inspector Taylor. Headliner Aileen Pringle isn't given much to do. As for who did it, you can see it coming almost from the very first scene. Still, pre-1935 Alice White might be reason enough to watch.
The King Murder (1932)
A tidy little murder mystery from Chesterfield
A tidy little murder mystery from Chesterfield that keeps you guessing until the end. Who killed the blackmailing gold digger? There are plenty of suspects including three of her current marks, wives and girlfriends, and a former partner. The murderer accidentally (not intentionally) gets some of his own medicine in the end. Any of these 1930s quickies that surprises at the end is worth seeing. Chesterfield has a fairly good record for turning them out, better than most second tier studios. Dorothy Revier as the two-faced vixen is believable as "that kind of woman". You have to wonder how she can conceal her baser nature from the shills. The shapely Marceline Day is always worth watching. Conway Tearle's usual dull acting style fits perfectly here as the chief of detectives, reflecting the quiet competence of a man who has seen it all many times before. The plot moves at an appropriate police procedural pace.
Uzumaki (2000)
There is a rational.
It's true that the explanation of the plot is not emphasized (as in: Oh, Yeah!). Although it is brief, the spiral tie-in is explained by the reporter during his investigation, before he is killed. The plot is based on an old serpent spirit which inhabits the lake. The spiral is a symbol of the coiled serpent. Shuichi's father mistakenly believes the word serpent is the word for mirror. Apparently the two words are pronounced the same in Japanese. Apparently, this serpent spirit delights in driving people to commit suicide. All of the deaths in the movie may, in fact, be suicides. Even those that appear to be accidents could be the result of instant suicide mental suggestions. Now, go watch it again.
Out of Singapore (1932)
What they called a "potboiler" back in the old days.
Noah Beery once again plays the heavy, this time a sailing officer who is also a ship wrecker. And he has his eye on the captain's pretty daughter Mary played by blonde Miriam Seegar. His course is complicated by his former girlfriend, the half-caste Concha, played to the hilt by Dorothy Burgess in what may be her ripping-est role ever. The darkly beautiful Miss Burgess is mesmerizing as she determines to hold on to her man or make him pay. George Walsh is rather wooden as the hero. Jimmy Aubrey gives a great impression as the lovable drunk. The characters reflect many degrees of morality. For some, it will be fatal. The great thing about these old films is that they sometimes give us a look at things as they once were. This story rings true enough and much of what you see in characters and scenery is probably much like it was.