EDGE OF SANITY (Blu Ray from Arrow Video) -original release 1989 . color. 85 minutes. Arrow U.S.Blu Ray release June 21,2022 . NTSC Widescreen 1.85:1 Region A s.r.p. $ 39.95
During the 1970s and 1980s, Anthony Perkins gave amazing performances on film (FFOLKES,Universal,1980 ), television (LES MISERABLES, CBS,1979 ; THE GLORY BOYS ,Yorkshire TV,1984) and on stage ( magnificent on Broadway as Dr Dysart in EQUUS,1975).
Yet, even with his wide body of work , he was still stalked by his own creation, that of the cinematic ideal of Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s masterpiece PSYCHO (Paramount) . So powerful and indelible was his portrayal that he could not escape it.
He accepted that was to be how people would see him and so he did two theatrical and one tv sequels, as was as spoofing himself on tv on Saturday Night Live to promote one of them. Thus, the remaining ten years of his life were mostly variants of his twitchy Norman Bates persona.
One of the better ones was in Ken Russell’s CRIMES OF PASSION (New World ,1984, , available on Blu Ray from Arrow ). Five years later, he added Norman to EDGE OF SANITY, adding it to a retelling of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & M Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson(1886) and a Jack The Ripper variant. In some territories, the film was known as DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE.
In EDGE OF SANITY , sex & cocaine are mixed into the formula of this 1880s set thriller. A young boy witnesses a couple having sex but is soon discovered & beaten for his voyeurism. During the beating , the young boy imagines the woman laughing at him is covered in blood . This is shown to be a dream memory , as an adult Dr Jekyll awakes in a sweat. His wife asks him if anything is wrong ,but he shrugs her away and, grabbing his cane, walks down to his laboratory.
Dr Jekyll (Perkins) has been working on an experiment to explore the human personality. To that end , he mixes unknown chemicals with cocaine and ether . The experiment seems to work, as he becomes a twisted , stringy haired paler faced version of himself who calls himself Edward Hyde. This new persona is also stronger, & no longer needs his walking stick ,though he makes other uses for it during the film.
Freed of his inhibitions, he goes down to the Whitechapel area of London. Hyde enjoys the pleasures of the bars & brothels ,too much so . His encounter with a prostitute result in him killing the woman. From then on, it is a sleazy mix of sex & violence.
Director Gerard Kikoine was better known for his soft porn & hardcore output . His work must have been stylish ( he did work with Radley Metzger, the auteur of soft & hardcore cinema ) since it caught the attention of Harry Alan Towers. Towers was a master of putting together international deals and getting recognizable names to appear in them. He collaborated again with the director & composer for the film BURIED ALIVE (21st Century, 1989), a film notable as the last film that John Carradine directly worked upon.
Mixing Jekyll & Hyde with Jack the Ripper is not new. During the actual Ripper Murder spree ( April to November 1888). actor Richard Mansfield was portraying the dual role of Dr Jekyll & Mr. Hyde . He began the role in 1887 in his own adaptation of the story just 1 year after the story was published.
Mansfield in his adaptation made many of the changes still carried over into most adaptations since his play, including adding women to the piece, Dr Jekyll being a sympathetic character , and increasing the presence and importance of the law in the character of Inspector Newcomen. The show was a huge hit in its initial Boston & New York performances . Mansfield took his production to the Lyceum Théâtre in London. It too was well received ,at first. Then the Ripper killings began. Mansfield’s onstage transformation into the murderous Mr. Hyde had several of the more gullible convinced that he could not be able to portray such a character unless he himself was a dual personality, and possibly the Ripper himself! The terrible comments affected the box office & Mansfield closed the production. He did continue to play the roles on & off for almost two decades , including several Broadway revivals. He died on August 30,1907 at age 50.
Hammer Films mixed the two stories of Jack with Jekyll & Hyde while throwing in some Burke & Hare in their gender swapping Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (Hammer/AIP ,1971). This could have been a disaster or poor sex farce but the clever script by Brian (tv’s Avengers series)Clemens, skillful direction by Roy Ward Baker, beautiful top notch production design and cinematography, and the wonderful performers make this a sadly neglected Hammer gem.
EDGE OF SANITY was not as well crafted. It received mixed to negative reviews. It really did not find its audience until its release to home media , first by Virgin Video then in ep speed by Video Treasures. Both were cropped & foggy looking, the latter with increased grain.
MGM released a much better print on DVD , which was cropped on one side of the disc, & widescreen on the other (did anyone ever watch the cropped copy on these DVDS willingly?).
Now , Arrow continues finding and restoring obscure films for rediscovery and reappraisal.
First , they went to the original 35mm (remember 35mm ?) camera negative , cleaned it up and gave it a brand new Hi Def 1080p restoration. The difference is quite evident when watched in comparison to the MGM DVD. There seems to be more screen image on the side of the frames (1.85:1) , and the clarity, sharpness and colors really are superior to the older release.
The sound is also superior to the older prints. Perkins at times whispers his lines when not taking the crazy to eleven, and you ended up adjusting the levels throughout. Now, even his lower spoken lines are clear and audible. LPCM 2.0 stereo.
Just in case, there are easy to read SDH English subtitles .
There is an informative running commentary by filmmakers David Flint & Seth Hogan .
Other extras on this disc include :
Over The Edge – new interview for this release with Stephen Thrower, author of NIGHTMARE USA (FAB PRESS,2007).
Jack, Jekyll, & Other Screen Psychos – a new interview for this release with Dr Clare Smith, who wrote JACK THE RIPPER IN FILM & CULTURE ( Palgrave/MacMillan,2016)
Both interviews compliment each other, one covering the film , the other the fascination we have with Jack The Ripper.
Not included with the review copy is the magnificent Graham Humphreys slipcover with reversible artwork.
Also not included with the review copy is film critic & film historian (Candyman (Auteur, 2018)) Jon Towlson’s illustrated collective booklet(included with first pressings only!)
I must admit watching this new release has given me a better appreciation of the film. For example, the score by Frederic Talgorn (it seems to have been his first) is lush and orchestral in a time when cheap synth scores were more the norm. Ditto too the cinematography by Tony Spratling is sharp and makes effective use of color in a style which hints at Argento. The costumes are good , though one character who plays a pimp looks like he just stepped out of a Culture Club music video . The Bucharest locations make the film look like a much bigger production than it really was .
Perkins sadly would pass away September 12, 1992, at age 60 . Perkins himself led a dual existence, having to hide his real personality ,and undergoing psychoanalysis to “cure” himself. He married actress Berry Berenson, had two sons , & were happy , though he could not deny who he was.
In 1990 , the sleazy National Enquirer gained access to a blood sample that Perkins had given in an unrelated test , and they sprayed the news ‘Psycho Star Has AIDS’. This is how the actor himself found out that he was infected. Before he passed , he issued this public statement :
“There are many who believe this disease is God’s vengeance. But I believe it was sent to teach people how to love and understand and have compassion for each other. I have learned more about love, selflessness and human understanding from people I have met in this great adventure in the world of AIDS, than I ever did in the cutthroat, competitive world in which I spent my life.”
Worth getting for fans of Anthony Perkins or / and the works of producer of Harry Alan Towers and those interested in Jack the Ripper, Jekyll & Hyde , and eighties horror.
Richard E. Cunha, the man who brought us GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN (see review ),MISSLE TO THE MOON, SHE-DEMONS , all Astor horror/sci fi films , tried his hand with adding a new family (dis)member to the Frankenstein line.
The year prior, Hammer /WB and AIP both experienced boffo box office by reviving the creation from the mind of Mary Shelley. Both had small budgets (£ 65,000, or approximately $270,000 for CURSE OFFRANKENSTEIN, with I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN costing about half of that amount).
Astor wanted in , and with a budget of around $60 grand & a tight six- day shoot, FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER was born. This was Cunha’s longest film(his other clock in usually at 77-78 minutes) but the gonzo goings-on make it seem one of his fastest paced films.
Boris would like a word
Oliver Frank (Donald Murphy ,who played Virgil Earp in the William Castle directed MASTERSON OF KANSAS, Columbia, 1954) works for elderly Dr Morton (Swiss born Felix Locher, who was the real-life father of Jon Hall, but who himself didn’t start acting himself until he was 73 in HELL SHIP MUTINY, Republic, 1957). Oliver Frank, it is revealed is the grandson of the original Dr Frankenstein (oddly, REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN ,Columbia ,1958, ends with the doctor using the alias of Dr Frank). However, the title Grandson of Frankenstein is a bit clunky, so it is his creation the film’s title refers.
Oliver has been experimenting on Trudy Morton (Sandra Knight, who later married & divorced her later costar Jack Nicholson whom she met on THE TERROR, AIP,1963, before she switched to being a painter https://www.sandraknight.com/# ), slipping her experimental drugs that make her change into hideous creature (that resembles Frida Kahlo with a nasty overbite )to roam the streets at night . She of course , thinks that she only is having nightmares .
Oliver’s big wish , however, is to create life from scratch, or stiches, just like grandpa did . Trudy’s friend (Sally Todd, the Feb 1957 Playmate of the Month)has the misfortune to be run over by Oliver , who truly only wants her for her brains.
Frank was truly mad….
“We’re aware the female mind is conditioned to a man’s world. It therefore takes orders, where the other ones didn’t.”
Mad & misogynist Olivier Frank places the brain into his creation, & with the assist of Elsu the gardener (Wolfe Barzell ,who mostly appeared in small roles on TV) ,he creates …what is supposed to have been a female creation.
Oddly , no one seemed to have told casting or makeup artist Harry Thomas ,for the monster was portrayed by Harry Wilson. Besides playing character parts in films like ONE MILLION B.C.(Roach, 1940),the British born Wilson ,who ,like Rondo Hatton, was afflicted with acromegaly , also had a career as Wallace Beery’s stand in & double . Here, the ex-wrestler has work that resembles the half-melted face TorJohnson had in Ed Wood’s NIGHT OF THE GHOULS (Atomic ,1959),which also had makeup by HarryThomas. When they discovered the gender of the creature, a bit of lipstick was added. Still , the makeup is effective, especially with work created from only the contents of a make-up case.
Throw in a rather bland John Ashley as Johnny ,who’s acting grew MORE bored as the decades went on , Page Cavanaughand His Trio performed the song “Special Date” with Harold Lloyd Jr. singing , & 2 rather ineffectual police officers and you have most of the people in this flick. Poor Harold Lloyd Jr lived in the shadow of his famous father, and he was alcoholic from an early age. Plus, he was a homosexual when it was socially unacceptable. He did have a singing career, which was interupted when he had a stroke in 1965, from which he never fully recovered, dying just 3 months after his father in 1971.
The film continues on its gonzo way, with Trudy transforming & getting bug eyes for a while, Elsu massaged on the shoulders to death, John Ashley fighting the monster, throwing Acid ,missing the creature but hitting Oliver(oops), giving him a melted face (the make up here is very effective , and better served by only showing it for a moment) ,then the poor creature ignites itself ,resulting in self-immolation(Oops!).
The film ends on a return to “normalcy,” with Johnny & Trudy swimming ,Johnny telling Trudy the wedding vows, emphasizing “OBEY!” Has Trudy avoided one man controlling her (albeit in a stitched together body) for another man expecting her servitude? We don’t get much time to think on this , as Johnny pushes Harold Lloyd Jr into the pool, and everyone laughs. THE END.
The funny thing is, I rather enjoyed this film because of its craziness . Trudy feels that she is dreaming, & perhaps she is ,bringing us along. It is like it is a cinematic haunted house ride , twisting & turning with various things happening as it clatters along . A guilty pleasure ,perhaps, but still a pleasure, hopelessly misogynistic as it is.
This film & indeed many of the Astor Studio releases have passed into public domain. The quality ,or lack thereof ,on late night tv or cheap vhs tapes made these films look less competently made then they were .
The print that they use is from an original camera negative and given the 4K restoration treatment. The resulting image is sharp with nice gray scales and deep black tones. I do not recall any film damage or speckling upon the image.
The DTS-HD dual mono sound is crisp and clear.
Optional Easy to read subtitles are available in English & Spanish.
Extras include: –a running commentary track .
–RICHARD E CUNHA: FILMMAKER OF THE UNKNOWN –Ballyhoo Motion Pictures creates another wonderful mini documentary , which includes footage of director Richard Cunha ( March 4, 1922 – September 18, 2005) himself commenting upon his work and career.
–JOHN ASHLEY : MAN FROM THE B’s – Film historian and writer /director C. Courtney Joyner (LURKING FEAR , Full Moon, 1994) comments upon the career of actor/singer/producer John Ashley (December 25, 1934 – October 3, 1997). A chance encounter with John Wayne led to his acting career starting in 1957, to becoming a producer in 1971, leading to him becoming one of the producers of the major tv hit ,THE A TEAM (Universal, 1983-87).
Is FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER a classic ? Heck no. Is it a fun film you will go back to again & again ? I would think so !
THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW (1983) (MVD Rewind Blu-ray S.E.) – Color. 91 mins. R. Regions A, B, C. $29.95 s.r.p.
THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW (Film Ventures) came out during the height of the slasher films of the 1980s. First time writer director Mark Rosman was partially inspired by the French Classic LES DIABOLIQUES (Cinedis,1955), though the killer was obviously inspired by the one in the successful FRIDAY THE 13th (Paramount ,1980). Originally titled Seven Sisters, it was shot in Pikesville Maryland in the summer of 1980, with additional photography taking place in Los Angeles.
Given a limited release at first in late 1982, the distributor expanded it in January ,1983, where it reached Number One at the box office, earning $10.6 million at the box office, not to mention various video releases and cable showings. Not bad for a film that cost less than half a million to make.
The 2009 remake (Summit, the people who gave us the TWILIGHT films, need I say more?) was one of those films that was almost instantly forgettable WHILE you watched it. The original, though not perfect, is worth revisiting over and over.
The plot has 7 sorority sisters who, while celebrating their graduation, accidentally kill their house mother DorothySlater (Lois Marie Kelso, making her screen debut at age 53) when a prank goes wrong and she ends up dead in their pool.
While they decide what to do next, someone else is going around killing people. Can the women hide the crime, and uncover who is going around killing people, including whittling down the members of their society?
As stated, THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW has been available on Home Video in the U.S. from Vestron (VHS), DVD from Elite, then a 2- disc set from Scorpion, who then released the title on Blu Ray in 2018.
This new MVD REWINDBlu Ray release is markedly superior to the old Elite DVD (I do not have the Scorpion release for comparison). The picture is infinitely sharper with brighter colors. Flesh tones are superior in the new release, and the sound is ultra-sharp, with the dialogue, sound effects, and score by Richard Band coming through cleanly & hiss free.
The print used was given a good cleaning and a hi-def (1080p) release, in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The film’s sound is available in LPCM 2.0 stereo, and an alternate version of the film presented in mono audio, with a new director approved pre credit sequence that was more to Roseman’s original vision.
Other extras are :
Audio Commentary with director Mark Rosman (still active, working on various tv productions), who gives an informative and honest history of the film.
A second commentary track with the director joined with two of the stars, Eileen Davidson (now a mainstay on the daytime soap opera THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS, since 1984) and Kathryn McNeil (recently seen in the powerful mini-series THEM, Amazon,2021).
Get the Pool skimmer.
Short interviews with Roseman, Davidson, McNeil ,and fellow actress Jane Kozak ( recently on THE SHOW MUST GOONLINE ,where actors from around the world did readings of Shakespeare’s plays in the order they are believed to have been written ),composer Band(still composing ,with DON’T LET HER IN just having been released by Full Moon in 2021) and producer Igo Kantor (who passed away in October ,2019 , having produced such films as MUTANT, Film Ventures,1984 where he replaced original director Rosman with John “Bud” Cardos , and KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, Dimension ,1977 ) .
Also available are storyboards with an alternate ending
The original theatrical trailer and tv spots.
Optional English subtitles.
Reversible cover art .
If you do not have this thriller in your collection, I suggest you may wish to add this Special Edition to your horror blu- ray library.
Recommended .
-Kevin G Shinnick
If you would like to contribute to SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE,
Arrow Films is truly coming out with some remarkable foreign films, especially in the fantasy genre from Japan. Most of these gems from Japan come from Daiei Films .
Not only are these amazingly sharp and beautiful prints, they also come with a lot more extras and knowledgeable commentaries than you might expect .
Now ,added to this must have collection of the Daiei fantasy films is the magnificent DAIMAJIN trilogy . The three films all were released it seems in quick succession in the year 1966 and then no further films followed . The film was perhaps harder to sell overseas and thus was a subject more focused upon the home market . The films did have some tv sales ( AIP-TV bought two of the films , retitling DAIMAJIN as MAJIN, MONSTER OF TERROR and DAINAJIN IKARU as RETURN OF GIANT MAJIN . They were dubbed into English by Titan Productions ,but in cropped and scanned prints .One wonders why AIP didn’t buy and release all three?
Retromedia released a DVD of these dubbed prints so you can judge for yourselves).
The films do not fit into the usual Kaiju (giant monster) films ,in that the title character doesn’t usually become active until the last third of the film, acting as the ultimate Deus ex machina , in which the gigantic stone god comes to life and rights wrongs, before returning to immobile stone.
Daiei Studios, founded in 1942 and producing war propaganda films ,in 1949 they revamped themselves and made their product internationally received with the likes of Akira Kurosawa’s RASHOMON (1950) .as well as the artistic haunting ghost story UGETSU (1953). The studio made films for both arthouse and fantasy films (the second film by the revamped studio was THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS,1949). Alternating between historical and fantasy films, they often combined the two with great success. The popularity of their Gamera films (starting in 1965, with two films in 1966 ,also available on Blu Ray from Arrow Films ) set the stage for the Daimajin films.
DAIMAJIN : In 18th Century Feudal Japan ,A cruel lord overthrows the rightful ruler . The children of the ruler escape . Years later, they encounter the vicious lord, who has been extreme in his cruelty to the people Capturing the two young people, he ties them upon crosses for execution . However, prayers to the stone idol Daimajin ,whom we earlier being worshipped and appeased after some natural disasters, now comes to life ,frees the two young people and goes on a rampage of destruction against the evil lord (who is killed in a very satisfying fashion) before a villager pleads for the destruction to end cries and the tears fall upon the giant’s feet . The rioting ends, and the giant returns to stone, before crumbling away.
RETURN OF DAIMAJIN (1966): Another evil warlord pops up (Japan seems rife with them) .This time he chases villagers to an island where there is a giant statue of the god. Is it the same one reassembled, or another one, like the giant stone heads of Easter Island , it is never made clear. The warlord must have seen the previous film, and orders the statue to be blown up. However, the pieces end up in the lake and the giant arises again to seek vengeance and chew Amonoya, and it is all out of Amonoya .Tears again summon the god and lay it to rest. This time ,it turns to water at the end of its mission .
Amonoya
DAIMAJIN STRIKES AGAIN-this time the story is set in a snowy mountain valley, where the statue is buried in snow (is it the same statue ,or are their several of these dumped around Japan?). Once again, Daimajin is summoned, the god rising from the layers of snow to defeat another evil Lord who is mistreating the people who the Lord almost dumps into a sulfur pit ,before he and his minions are disposed of . The god, his work finished now, his life force leaves him as he turns first to stone before he then turns to snow and blowing away
The three films use the elements of stone, water , and wind , making one wonder if a fourth film had happened, would he have turned to fire? Mind you ,I have not seen the 2010 tv series (DAIMAJIN KANON, 26 episodes, TV Tokyo) which retold the story ,only with it being set present day so I am unsure if they used that element .
The one other thing that struck me watching all three back to back was that it reminded me of the legend of the Golem , best known as the Jewish legend of a man of clay brought to life to avenge .
This Arrow Films Blu Ray release is a real treat. A limited edition (order yours now), this beautiful collection has all three films in a sharp colorful 1080p High Definition restoration.
Original Japanese print with clear sharp optional subtitles.
A new intro to the first film by fantasy cinema expert Kim Newman (also author of the must have horror series ANNODRACULA)
Brand new commentaries by Japanese film expert Stuart Galbraith IV (The Toho Studios Story ,The Japanese CinemaBook, many others), Tom Mes, Jasper Sharp .and Jonathan Sharp .
These full-length running commentaries are fact filled but never overwhelming as he explores the films, it’s players, and their histories.
Original trailers.
Alternate tv credits for Majin-the Monster of Terror (TV title for the AIP release).
An interview with cinematographer Fujio Morita ( 1927-2014),who talks about his long career ,working at DAIEI STUDIOS on such films as RASHOMON ,and especially the Daimajin films. Morita worked as a cinematographer from 1950 to 1995 . His beautiful use of color makes these films stand out , as well as some wonderful compositions that make the effects even more impressive.
Image Galleries.
A plethora of new documentaries for this release :
MY SUMMER WITHDAIMJIN -film Professor Yoneo Ota talks about his summer job working on making the original film .
FROM STORYBOARD TO SCREEN-compares storyboards to actual scenes in the film RETURN OF DAIMAJIN .
BRINGING THE AVENGING GOD TO LIFE– a superlative explanation of how the still dazzling special effects were done on these movies, by Japanese film historian Ed Godziszewski .
Not included with the review discs but in the actual box set will be
Illustrated collector’s 100 page book featuring new essays by Jonathan Clements, Keith Aiken, Ed Godziszewski, Raffael Coronelli, Erik Homenick, Robin Gatto and Kevin Derendorf
Postcards featuring the original Japanese artwork for all three films
Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank
Some fans of kaiju films may feel that these films are too slow and not enough stomping , but for those who want to see a beautiful series that is a bit different from the average stomp Tokyo films, I highly recommend this series.
–Kevin G Shinnick
ARROW FILMS Highly Recommended
DAIMAJIN TRILOGY THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS GAMERA COLLECTION
All available on Amazon and other fine Blu Ray dealers.
If you would like to contribute to SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE,
We are pleased to present another chapter from the now just released new book covering the classic Universal monster films, going from THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS ,1940 ( see our preview : https://tinyurl.com/udjxvcw )to 1948’s ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEETS FRANKENSTEIN.
One point that I would like to make. There are certain toxic members of fandom who feel that they PERSONALLY own the classic films and make snarky comments about others who dare to cover the genre . These people need to realize that others love these films and have the right to write about the movies . The “toxics” can of course voice an opinion , but they need to review the work itself and not make lame childish swipes to make themselves feel superior . Fan was derived from “fanatic” , and the toxics bring negativity to what is supposed to be an enjoyable exchange of ideas on a subject that we all enjoy .
Now , with that out of the way , SCARLET is glad to share another chapter of this new book . This chapter : THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN:
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
Synopsis: We open in the village of Frankenstein, as the villagers receive the mayor’s permission to blow up the remains of Castle Frankenstein, which they see as the cause of all the misfortune that has befallen them. This proves to be harder than anticipated, for Ygor – the broken-necked, vengeful blacksmith from Son of Frankenstein – is not above tossing a few rocks at them from a parapet. Fleeing to the castle’s nether-regions for safety, Ygor espies a hand sticking out of the now-hardened sulfur pit. Digging in, he is astonished to see that the hand belongs to the arm of the Frankenstein Monster who – albeit somewhat the worse for wear – is still alive. Freeing his “friend,” Ygor leads the Monster off into the nearby woods.
A thunderstorm rises suddenly, and the Monster is struck by lightning; remarkably, rather than destroying him, the lightning restores his strength. Putting two and two together, Ygor leads his friend off to Vasaria, wherein dwells Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein, younger son of the mad scientist who first cried out, “It’s alive!” Somehow, despite his bearing one of the most unique and infamous surnames in all of Germania, Ludwig has avoided being associated with his father’s woeful experiments by everyone in the vicinity – and that includes his daughter, Elsa. While Ygor is putting the arm on Ludwig, the Monster has killed one of the locals and is now in police custody. Only after Ygor threatens to spill the beans about Ludwig’s patronymic does the good doctor head down to the courthouse to see about the Monster. The Monster, possibly seeing a family resemblance and sensing an ally, is nonetheless enraged when Ludwig denies knowing anything about him, and bursting his chains, runs off to the hills again, accompanied by Ygor.
Come nightfall, the pair make for the castle Frankenstein, where the Monster tears through the doctor’s laboratory in an effort to carry off Elsa, killing assistant Dr. Kettering in the process. Both Monster and Ygor are overcome by gas pumped in through the air ducts, and Ludwig – determined to disassemble the Monster piece by piece – asks Dr. Bohmer for advice and assistance. Bohmer talks Ludwig out of the dissection and suggests that the placement of a normal brain inside the Monster’s body might result in a creature who is an actual boon to mankind. Seeing as he has Kettering’s brain on hand, Ludwig agrees and prepares for the operation. Bohmer, looking to regain his professional reputation (tarnished by past experiments-gone-wrong), conspires with Ygor to place the blacksmith’s brain in the Monster’s skull instead of Kettering’s. In the meanwhile, the Monster has kidnapped young Cloestine – a child who has acted in a friendly fashion toward him – and brings her to the laboratory, insisting that her brain go into his head. Ludwig straightens things out (in the course of which Ygor is crushed behind a sturdy door by his erstwhile “friend”), preps the Monster for the transplant, and then – unbeknownst to him – connects Ygor’s brain to the Monster’s circuitry, thanks to Bohmer.
Back at the village, everyone is frantic about the Monster having vanished and the sudden disappearance of Cloestine. As they prepare to storm the castle, Elsa’s boyfriend, Erik Ernst, confers with Ludwig, who informs him that – the operation having been quite successful – the Monster’s personality is now that of the gentle Dr. Kettering. All – except for Dr. Bohmer – are shocked when the Monster, now speaking with Ygor’s voice, boasts that with his newly recovered strength he will rule the world! Moments later, though, the Monster is apparently going blind, due to incompatibility of blood types. While the angry mob breaks into the castle, the Monster, raging about the laboratory sends Bohmer crashing to his death into an electric panel. Thrashing about wildly, he knocks chemicals onto the floor, where they combine to set the place afire. Erik and Elsa escape with their lives, but Ludwig and the Monster perish in the flames .
Much of the fun one has with Universal’s Frankenstein series, of course, is to be found in marveling over nomenclature and inconsistencies. The 1931 Frankenstein originally keyed in on the epic missteps taken by Colin Clive’s Henry Frankenstein in an abandoned watchtower high in the hills above the village of Goldstadt. “Missteps” is a moral evaluation of Henry’s purposeful experiments, which suffered also from muck-ups, like the breaking of the neck of the cadaver cut down from the gibbet, and the deceitful substitution by Fritz of an abnormal brain for the good one he dropped, having been startled by the dramatically inexplicable sounding of a gong at Goldstadt Medical College. (Said college is doubtless part of the larger Goldstadt University from which Dr. Pretorius will admit to having been “booted” in Bride.) Lying somewhere between missteps and muck-ups are also mysteries, such as why Henry is disturbed when Dr. Waldman informs him that the brain Fritz – Dwight Frye, enacting his second straight tormented sidekick for Universal – had filched had belonged to a criminal, when the first place Frankenstein had ventured in search of a brain was the body of someone publicly hanged by the neck (and presumably not for acts of charity). Or what was the logic behind issuing the new creation a pair of black platform shoes? Were these – like what would become the Monster’s trademark black suit – found in a cupboard someplace? Despite all this, we had our iconic “Frankenstein Monster.”
With Frankenstein a hit, Junior Laemmle’s production team had begun readying the world for The Return of Frankenstein – the sequel to the earlier sensation and the film that marked the reunion of James Whale and MaryShelley’s legacy – in 1933. Soon enough, the project was retitled Bride of Frankenstein, and it was bandied about by the publicity department that a “search” was underway for just the right actress to portray the titular bride. Although Colin Clive had reportedly been disappointed that his much-anticipated death scene at the end of the 1931 classic had been supplanted by Frederick Kerr’s toast to an heir for the “House of Frankenstein” and the need for his character to survive to experiment another day, he was happy to be involved in the sequel, which would open with his Henry and the Elizabeth of
… ummm… Mae Clarke? making good on the old baron’s toast. Okay. While Clarke would soon appear again at Universal with the increasingly popular Boris Karloff (Night World, 1932), she was either unavailable, unwilling, or unasked to come to the signing of contracts a couple of years later. For all the good-natured folderol of the supposed search for one bride or the other, there was little mystery as to with whom said “bride” would be paired. Only had Elizabeth’s heart been used to power up the female creature the Monster would briefly woo – as plotted in the original script – would anyone have paid a brass farthing to witness the goings-on of Valerie Hobson.
Although little flower-tossing Maria had ended up in the drink as she was bonding with the Monster in the 1931 original, the next time the Monster was a total emotional mess had to be when O.P. Heggie’s blind hermit sawed away at the “Ave Maria” in his cottage (a musical hommage to the Monster’s first, inadvertent victim?). In fact, following the clever opening badinage between Byron and the Shelleys, Bride gets underway as Maria’s dad, Hans (Reginald Barlow), spews righteous anger over his daughter’s death, a moment that allows the audience to recall the scene in which Maria’s dad, Ludwig (Michael Mark), had carried her lifeless body through the streets of Goldstadt in the earlier film. Hey, if Elizabeth can undergo such an amazing transformation (for the better, many argue), why not old Hans… errr… Ludwig?
And why can’t the torch- and whip-wielding Fritz metamorphose into the near-imbecilic Karl, in what would be DwightFrye’s third straight take on a half-wit at Universal? (Please recall that Frye’s appearance as a cogent, articulate reporter in Whale’s The Invisible Man [1933] was uncredited.) In his seminal It’s Alive: The Classic Cinema Saga of Frankenstein, film historian Gregory William Mank explains the hemi-demi-semi-nature of Frankenstein’s latest assistant:
To showcase Frye’s talents at lunacy and comedy, Whale combined two separate roles of the original script: Karl, ‘a bit of a village idiot,’ quoth the script, and Fritz, the ‘first ghoul’ who assists Pretorius, into simply Karl, who became both a village idiot and a ghoul and one of Frye’s most memorable performances .
Frankenstein’s Monster also became simply “Frankenstein” a lot sooner than it took the studio to acknowledge the maneuver via Basil Rathbone at the town railway station (please note: town also now apparently yclept “Frankenstein”) four years later. No one (that I’ve ever met, at any rate) ever raised an eyebrow over Henry Frankenstein’s having miraculously survived the climactic laboratory detonation that was set off by the jilted Monster (please ignore the long-shot to the contrary that somehow survived the final edit), or his subsequently making an honest woman of Elizabeth, or her bearing him a couple of sons, or his ending up a baron (the original script for the 1931 film had called for Frederick Kerr’s character to die of shock, thus passing the title down to Henry), or even that the “Henry” of the first two features turned out to be the “Heinrich” of the third .
Come that third – the Whale-less Son of Frankenstein of 1939 – and we learn that Heinrich und Elizabeth had a son, Wolf, who at some point married a redhead named Elsa, moved to the USA to teach at an American college, and had his own son, Peter. (The order in which these events occurred is of no importance.) Unlike his dad and grandfather (called plain old “Baron Frankenstein” in the 1931 film), Wolf goes by von Frankenstein, which can be translated of or from Frankenstein. Per our colleague, AllMovies.com reviewer Hans Wollstein, there’s a method to this morass:
If dear old Frederick Kerr’s character was a baron, then his son’s name should have been Heinrich, Baron von Frankenstein all along. Heinrich/Henry would have had his father’s family surname – which might well have been Müller or Schmidt – when he was CREATED Baron Frankenstein, at which point the “von” would then have been applied when spelled out. The title would have been awarded by the emperor, Wilhelm I, or his chancellor, Prince von Bismarck, and it would be in evidence from the costumes and setting.
Thus, God only knows what the family name of the baron and his progeny and their issue was “in reality.” If the men insisted on bearing the title that was evidently handed down from one generation to the next, they could wander about known only by it and their Christian name (Guten Tag!Ich bin Heinrich, Baron von Frankenstein!) Wolf either took a pass on the title (his brother, Ludwig – who gets embroiled in this mess in Ghost – didn’t toss his being a baron in anyone’s face, either) or adopted this short-cut en route to assimilating into the USA. A tempest in a teapot? Yessiree!, but we learn from that conductor’s timely interruption of Wolf’s diatribe that the eponymous terrain on which stand the family castle and old watch tower is a village large enough to be worthy of its own train station, grumbling populace, and hair-splitting Burgomeister: “We come to meet you, not to greet you!”
Again, there’s that bit of nonsense about just who is being touted in the picture’s title. Wolf is, of course, the son of Heinrich, “Maker of Monsters” (per the torch-inscribed snarl that someone managed to sneak in and scrawl onto his tomb); little Peter is the son of Wolf, and it is Peter’s precarious position (under the platform-shoe’d foot of the Monster) that leads his father to finally do something more action-oriented than playing darts. As for the Monster… well, Ygor’s intriguing insistence to Wolf that “Your father made him, and Heinrich Frankenstein was your father, too!” does little more than once again poke those viewers who had chuckled their way through the “Bride” kerfuffle some years earlier. (One of the kids with whom I formed a monster club a lifetime ago argued at the time – seriously, and not a little persuasively – that Karloff’s Monster in Son was the offspring of Karloff’s Monster from Bride, as the 1939 iteration was “not dressed” up in his trademark black suit, but instead “wore a sweatshirt.” So how, my old friend continued, could that Monster – the one kicked into the sulfur pit whilst accoutered in something akin to what we would now call a “fleece”-be the same Monster who was resurrected from the pit in The Ghost of Frankenstein ? We weren’t familiar with technical terms like “continuity in those days …)
Anyhow, with The Ghost of Frankenstein (why the “The” and why now?), we’re back at it; the ambiguity has returned with this, the first ‘40s execution of a radically ‘30s concept. Ghost-wise, one might opt for the ethereal Sir Cedric Hardwicke (transparent of figure and naked of scalp as Henry/Heinrich) as he lays a guilt trip on the corporeal Sir Cedric Hardwicke (who is weighted down with hair appliances) as Ludwig (no “von”) Frankenstein. Or one might take the low road and claim that Chaney’s initial appearance onscreen as the Monster – covered with “dried sulfur” and as white as any flour-dredged apparition in a Mantan Moreland comedy – gave him dibs on the meaning behind the title. Discussions like this one are always fun, even if they seldom matter; as neat a shot as the erstwhile House That Carl Built took in 1942, it was the very “Frankenstein” franchise that was but a shade of its former self .
James Whale had bailed after the first sequel – and he hadn’t much wanted to do that one until he was given assurance that his stylistic approach to the rest of Mary Shelley’s screed would be welcomed – and fama erat it was he who had contrived to have the Monster blown to atoms to save himself (and others) the trouble of yet another follow-up. Karloff had jumped ship after the second sequel; in his opinion, his beloved Monster was rapidly becoming a stooge, a henchman. Although only three films – quality outings, all – had been made, Boris felt that the integrity of the original concept was being sacrificed to Mammon. The gentle Briton was enough of a realist to understand that the undying Monster’s immortality was due to profitability, rather than to electricity or lightning, but enough of an idealist to quit while he – and his immortal alter-ego – was ahead of the game.
For a while, the actor had gone AWOL from the industry itself. While the boys at Universal’s publicity department were stirring up enough pap on the impending production to keep the trades and the dailies happy, the Great White Way had taken Boris Karloff and all his boogeyman baggage to its heart. Arsenic and Old Lace proved to be everything for the ‘40s-vintage actor that Frankenstein had been for his younger self. Boris found that his reputation had preceded him, and that he could bring down the house night after night by chalking up his latest murder to the victim’s unfortunate choice of words: “He said that I looked like Boris Karloff!” The word was out that the actor did not mind guying himself and was not at all upset about publicity pieces highlighting Jack Pierce’s famed makeup, those asphalt-spreaders boots, and/or even the unseen five-pound steel “spine” that the first film’s publicity campaign claimed was “the rod which conveys the current up to the Monster’s brain.”
Back at the studio, of course, the bullshit was flying fast and furious. A glance at the stuff that Universal’s PR staff cranked out for The Ghost of Frankenstein makes one doubt – if not outright disbelieve – anything he/she has ever heard about any of these films. The baloney stretched from the news of the “search” (Zounds! Déjà vu, all over again!) for a successor to Karloff to Greg Mank’s revelation of a “studio policy” that dictated which actors would always be seen in Frankenstein movies: uncredited, perhaps, but still Lawrence Grant’s Burgomeister was back, as were Michael Mark and Lionel Belmore as town councillors [sic] (despite their having been killed by the Monster in Son), Dwight Frye as a villager, and even Colin Clive, via stock footage – he had died of a combination of tuberculosis and alcoholism some five years earlier – as Henry/Heinrich Frankenstein’s younger/handsomer self. In on the never-ending stream of absurdity came prefab and ludicrously headlined pressbook articles like “Lon Chaney Appears as Monster in Horror Film” (as opposed to his appearing as a monster in a comedy of manners or a Civil War drama). With the nonstop peddling of blarney such as this, one might readily have come to the conclusion that Universal not only thought ten or so to be the age of the average horror moviegoer, but also that ten might be on the high side of that movie fan’s I.Q.
There’s probably more truth to that than any of us would care to admit. How old were my colleagues and I – and I’d venture to ask the same of many of the readership – when we first fell under the spell cast by Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, or any of the old horror movies we still embrace so passionately? The TV fodder introduced by “Shock Theater” or “Son of Shock” at the end of the ‘50s had, in the ‘30s, been pitched to grownups; they offered offbeat takes on adult themes – life after death, medical ethics, forbidden love, etc., etc., – and served them up in the company of grotesques perfectly capable of scaring the drawers off the patrons. Come the ‘40s, and half the population was either overseas fighting the war, or involved in the home front outfitting the war. No one needed “adult” themes shoved down his or her throat, even if they were couched in greasepaint and putty; wartime anxiety, death, and deprivation provided enough unwelcome fodder without any help from Hollywood. Moviegoers were looking for escapism, and the grownups and the kids sought a breather from Hitler and Hirohito in the company of Kharis and Frankenstein.
And The Ghost of Frankenstein didn’t just fill the bill back in April of ’42, it was – critics be damned – a hit. Wartime ticket-buyers were a different breed than the seat-warming populace looking for a bit of relief from the Great Depression. The formula for most “B”-movies (please, let’s not get unrealistic about Ghost) seemed to be that mood was fine and the plot important, but pacing was everything. Especially in cases like this one – where most regular moviegoers knew the ongoing details of the story backwards, forwards, and inside out – the picture could forego footage usually devoted to exposition and cut right to the chase. (Would that the Son of Dracula crew had shared a beer with Ghost of Frankenstein’s.)
Many fans regard this picture as being the last “solo” appearance of the Monster. Heck, I maintain that that pitiable giant figure was never able to get by without his support system of mad scientists, deformed/demented assistants, and the like – all of whom would be in on the official count of monsters come the publicity campaigns for the House(s) ofFrankenstein and Dracula a couple of years down the road. The box office receipts in 1931 had assured that Henry Frankenstein’s problem child would become far too profitable for him to handle only once and far too risky for him to handle alone. Still, as the Monster returned for each successive misadventure, he became encumbered with extra weight that may have added dimension to the ongoing saga, but also robbed it of its innocence and purity.
Ghost was hardly a solo venture. Beginning with Son of Frankenstein, the Monster had been terrorizing the countryside, so to speak, under the influence of an evil genius – Ygor. In the first two films, Whale and Karloff crafted a Monster who was adept enough to tell right from wrong, to rescue an innocent from drowning after having inadvertently drowned another, to relish the moments of friendship and camaraderie with a person unable to judge a book by its cover, and so on and so forth. In Son, the Monster came to rely, almost blindly, on his broken-necked friend and to lash out at the most innocent of the assemblage (Peter) following Ygor’s death. Here, Chaney’s Monster – whose capacity for recognition (Ludwig at first, Cloestine later) is the most human of his virtues and for whom loyalty and friendship ultimately play no part – ignores, betrays, and finally kills his broken-necked comrade. With Lon under the makeup, no spark that might temper the supercharged Monster can be seen; none of the sensitivity of his predecessor – the originator of the role – survived the transition. While Ghost’s Monster latched onto a child, there was none of the childlike spark that permeated his predecessor’s take on the role. Karloff, by far the more cerebral of the two actors, gave us presence; Chaney, by far the more physical of the two, gave us volume.
Universal Horrors does a grand job of summing up the early aberrations of the script which the eponymous MagicImage Film Book volume includes in toto, so there’s little point into going into that here. Yet for all the effort at innovation – its new Monster, the new Frankensteins, and (save for the Messrs. Grant,Mark,Belmore,et al) the new villagers- Ghost is mired in a lot of same old same old.
Take the “fly in the ointment” wrinkle: from its inception, the cinematic Frankenstein success story included an element of surprise, both logical and unpredictable, which had led to a cocking up of the initial game plan. In 1931, the fly had been Fritz’s sneaky-ass substitution of the abnormal brain for the good one; this, (we were told) led to the Monster’s propensity to lash out violently whenever he was being whipped or seared with a torch. Bride’s fly was the woman; if the rallying cry of most men is “You can’t live with them, and you can’t live without them,” just who did the Monster think he was? More importantly, why would Henry Frankenstein imagine even for a moment that an old queen like Pretorius could concoct a female who would soothe the Monster’s troubled breast? In Son, Wolf (like the Monster) falls victim to Ygor’s mind-games and the loopy grandeur of the family residence; the resultant misguided drive to restore his father’s good name leads to his firing up the furnaces once again. (By comparison, the incredible 180 Frank Mannering pulls in 1943’s Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is a total misfire. Even though his veins are completely free of Frankenstein blood, and he’s strengthened by the resolve of yet another [and curvier] Elsa [who’s standing close by his side], Mannering opts for the dark side only because, if someone doesn’t do something fast, the bell will ring and the audience will have to go home.)
Here, we have more wrinkles than Ayesha after that second fire. The Monster’s all for the transplant, but wants the brain of Cloestine (where do they get these names?) to sleep over forever. Ygor, the sly devil, plots to have his own noodle plopped into that square skull, as he can see where this would ease his way into prestige, power, and some real money. Dr. Bohmer, who at first doesn’t seem to do much other than hang around in his smock and suffer Ludwig Frankenstein’s thoughtless and insensitive comments, is lulled as much by a desire to marry his fist to Ludwig’s stiff upper lip as he is by Ygor’s silver tongue. Even with all this slumgullion boiling on the fire, one knows that the chances of Dr. Kettering’s brain making it into the Monster’s rigging start at zero and go down from there.
<The Monster wonders how someone else got Wolf Frankenstein’s jacket >
Another leftover from earlier installments has already been brought up for consideration: the Monster’s best suit. This – the absence of which in Son had sent Boris Karloff into rounds of kvetching (about “furs and muck”) that were not at all like him – was accepted with not so much as the blink of an eye upon its reappearance. Karloff had been right; the Monster’s Sunday best was part of the larger picture, as closely interwoven in the Frankenstein mythos as the Wolf Man’s work clothes and Dracula’s ever-crisp soup and fish were essential to their respective personas. The restoration of the basic black ensemble and its presence throughout the rest of the Universal canon only made the furry miscalculation in Son seem more of a head-scratcher than it had been originally.
Bela’s Ygor is a sight for sore eyes. Happily as resistant to small-arms fire as had been George Zucco’s Andoheb, the remarkably resilient high priest in the Kharis series, Ygor is hale, hearty, and – if an apparent good scrubbing and the periodontal work is any indication – in better shape than he was in the earlier feature. Along with his appearance, Ygor’s goals have been ratcheted up; ridding the village of old nuisances is no longer a pastime worthy of his attention. The crafty old blacksmith’s master plan now encompasses taking over the entire country! While this might be biting off more than any one man (or Monster) can chew, Ygor’s yodeling away that he now possesses “the strength of a hundred men” is a picture of megalomania unrivaled since Boris Karloff’s less exuberant but equally daft claims in Mask of Fu Manchu.
(And yet you have to wonder if, indeed, the Monster did grow stronger with each successive picture. In the first, Heinrich and the elderly Dr. Waldman [along with a hypodermic needle and a bludgeon] managed to wrestle him to the floor. Bride witnessed him being tied down and carried off – semi-crucified – by a mere dozen or so yokels, while in Son, a bit of momentum behind a well-placed kick was all it took to topple the Monster from his pins. Still, this sudden blossoming of superhuman power in the Monster’s mighty arms may exist only in Ygor’s feverish [and transplanted] mind; the only other times we hear of such outlandish claims are in the excised scenes between a gabby Ygor-cum-Monster and Larry Talbot in Ghost’s own son, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.)
Ghost marks the first time since Frankenstein that brains are bandied about like wholesale commodities, but the idea here seems particularly apt. You could watch any of Karloff’s three performances and see his Monster turning over thoughts and ideas in his mind. Even in Son (wherein Ygor does most of the mental heavy-lifting for the pair), his acceding to his partner’s decisions is visible. With the vintage-1942 Monster bearing inscrutable and near-frozen features, there is very little indication as to whether the lights are on upstairs and if, indeed, anyone is home. A new brain is clearly called for, but the plethora of available raw materials not only skirts the edge of risibility, but also foreshadows the “monster rally” sequels wherein frenetic brain-swapping would prove a plague on both houses.
So long as you don’t require much humanity amid the horrors and can get past his perpetual squint and scowl, Lon Chaney is not too bad as the Monster. His attachment to Cloestine is obviously meant to reflect the Karloffian viewpoint where children were concerned, but no more perfect image of the depths to which this concept had sunk can be had than the still whereon a stiff-limbed Eddie Parker (doubling for Chaney), clutching a wooden stand-in for Janet Ann Gallow, has just sent a buttocks-grabbing stuntman plunging to his out-of-frame mats. The childlike confusion on the Monster’s part that resulted in little Maria’s being tossed into the river had given way to slick contrivance. And again, as Chaney’s Monster offers no other sign of fidelity and is evidently capable of turning his rage toward anyone who stands in his way (including his old goombah, Ygor), no assurance is had that the brute might not dropkick the little girl 100 yards or so down the road if someone else were to become the apple of his eye. After all, Dr. Kettering is killed without so much as a second – or any – thought (although the impulsive action does free up a brain for future use); killing is what monsters do best, and Chaney’s giant is – first, last, and always – a monster.
The rest of the dramatis personae are fine – they almost always are in the Frankenstein series. Sir Cedric Hardwicke’s cool and imperturbable Ludwig is an interesting sibling to Basil Rathbone’s near-frantic Wolf, albeit the latter’s fairly constant state of near-hysteria makes him much more a chip off the old Heinrich than his younger brother. Ralph Bellamy does better by Erik Ernst than he did by Captain Montford in The Wolf Man, but this may be due to W. Scott Darling and Eric Taylor’s screenplay providing him with a more well-delineated part; said screenplay also gives the delectable Evelyn Ankers to him this time ‘round. Miss Ankers, in a role that’s essentially interchangeable with that of Gwen Conliffe in The Wolf Man, takes another step toward her accession of the title of ’40s Scream Queen. And Lionel Atwill is as enjoyable in his quieter moments (as when he’s glaring daggers while Ludwig runs off at the mouth at Bohmer’s expense) as he is in his premature snarl of triumph in the last reel.
Having all but snatched Son of Frankenstein away from Boris and Basil a couple of years earlier, Bela’s copping the honors in Ghost must have been a walk in the park for him. With Chaney portraying an unpredictable automaton, Bela runs the show, not realizing – until it’s too late – that although the Monster can recognize Ludwig Frankenstein (whom he has never met), he will fail to consider Ygor’s place in his heart while crushing the old boy behind the laboratory door. More so here than in Son, Lugosi’s blacksmith has to shift gears constantly; here, he goes from being the guy in the driver’s seat to the victim of his erstwhile friend’s petulance before being back (albeit quite briefly) on top of the world. Performance-wise, Bela is in command every step of the way, and had Chaney happened to glance sideways even once through those slits he used for eyes, he’d have learned more in a moment from Lugosi than he’d cadged from Erle C. Kenton during the entire 25-day shoot.
dir Earle C Kenton
Not up to the snuff introduced back in the ‘30s, The Ghost of Frankenstein was just fine, thank you, for the tastes of the next decade. Hans J. Salter’s pulsating score keyed the film’s more ominous moments, and both Woody Bredell and Milton Krasner performed the kind of visual magic in which Universal’s cinematographers were known to excel. (If the puffs in their respective press-books were meant to be taken – ahem! – at face value, the 1931 Monster stood seven feet tall, while Chaney’s goblin was merely six foot, nine. Nonetheless, this very minor discrepancy might explain why James Whale had Arthur Edeson’s camera capture the Monster head-on, while Erle C. Kenton had Krasner and Bredell constantly aim the lens up at the shorter of the giants. The following year, George Robinson – tasked with making Lugosi’s Monster as threatening as Eddie Parker’s [or even Gil Perkins’] in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, had to contend with changes in perspective in almost every scene.)
The New York Times’s Bosley Crowther – who never seemed to like much very much – ended his rather tepid review with an act of prognostication that was hardly a foregone conclusion in 1942: To be sure, the replenished monster is being consumed by fire when we see him last, but the thought that he may yet return for further adventures with his body and Lugosi’s sconce fills us with mortal terror. That is the most fearful prospect which the picture manages to convey. -4 April, 1942
Richard L. Coe, assigned the picture as part of his responsibilities at The Washington Post, took a somewhat unusual approach to informing his readership of the film’s story line: This morning we will discuss the love life of your old friend ‘Frankenstein,’ the monster who’s assumed, in the course of years, the name of his creator. This titivating subject has been raised on the Pix screen of ‘The Ghost of Frankenstein,’ a yarn employing, uh, should we say, talents of Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Lon Chaney, Jr., Lionel Atwill, and Bela Lugosi. But, of course, by now you’re palpitating for further details of this beguiling passion – what’s she like, is she pretty, how big is she?
The “beguiling passion” mentioned in this 1 May 1942 appreciation of the picture turns out to be Janet Ann Gallow’s Cloestine, and Coe – after averring that “Bela Lugosi becomes the town’s philosopher, a sort of perverted Frank Craven” – concludes with “… there are other things you can read in this morning’s paper, so we’ll let you go now.” Earlier that year, on the 25 March, the Los Angeles Times’ Philip K. Scheuer tersely opined that “It’s a spooky movie, all right, in the best Universal manner and fairly ingenious. At the close the monster goes down in flames again – but that doesn’t fool us for a minute. He’ll be back, girls; he’ll be back. Grr.” Yet another prediction, but one that was ultimately less impressive than Bosley Crowther’s.
A fast paced, atmospheric romp through familiar countryside, The Ghost of Frankenstein might well be the next logical step to Boris Karloff’s well-stated fear: the Monster as henchman. Pretty much a callow bully here, he had moved from a date that went tragically wrong to finding a homey with whom to hang to palling around with little kids, all the while being manipulated by those who claimed to act in his – and science’s – best interests. No offense is intended in calling the picture an excellent journeyman effort, albeit the lack of a master’s touch is obvious and lamentable. The Monster and the franchise could – and would – do worse.
The Ghost of Frankenstein – 13 March 1942 – 67 minutes (SoS) CAST: Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein; Lon Chaney as The Monster; Ralph Bellamy as Erik Ernst; Lionel Atwill as Dr. Theodor Bohmer; Bela Lugosi as Ygor; Evelyn Ankers as Elsa Frankenstein; Janet Ann Gallow as Cloestine Hussman; Barton Yarborough as Dr. Kettering; Olaf Hytten as Hussman; Doris Lloyd as Martha; Leyland Hodgson as Chief Constable; Holmes Herbert as Magistrate; Lawrence Grant as Mayor; Brandon Hurst as Hans; Otto Hoffman & Dwight Frye as Villagers; Julius Tannen as Sektal; Lionel Belmore & Michael Mark as Councillors; Harry Cording as Frone; Dick Alexander as Vision; Ernie Stanton & George Eldredge as Constables; Jimmy Phillips as Indian; Eddie Parker – stunts
CREDITS: Producer: George Waggner; Director: Erle C. Kenton; Screenplay: W. Scott Darling; Original Story by Eric Taylor; Directors of Photography: Milton Krasner and Elwood Bredell; Art Director: Jack Otterson; Associate Art Director: Harold H. MacArthur; Film Editor: Ted Kent; Musical Director: Hans J. Salter; Set Decoration: Russell A. Gausman; Sound Director: Bernard B. Brown; Technician: Charles Carroll; Assistant Director: Charles S. Gould; Makeup: Jack P. Pierce; Gowns: Vera West
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MORGUE Synopsis : After a harrowing accident, the perpetually down-on-his-luck Diego Martinez accepts a gig as a security guard at the local morgue. He thought he’d had a lucky break, but as the night wears on, eerie occurrences and the suddenly not-quite-lifeless body of the victim leave him to wonder: how much otherworldly rage does it take to wake the dead?
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Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1
Not rated
Director : Hugo Cardozo
Media Format : Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, Surround Sound. color
Run time : 1 hour and 21 minutes
Release date : May 11, 2021
Actors : Francisco Ayala, Maria del Mar Fernandez, Abel Martinez, Pablo Martinez, Raul Rotela
Subtitles: : English
Language : English (DTS 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)
Studio : Well Go Usa
Number of discs : 1
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the new mind-bending Sci-Fi Action Thriller :
SYNCHRONIC
When New Orleans paramedics and longtime best friends Steve (Anthony Mackie, AVENGERS : ENDGAME) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan, FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY ) are called to a series of bizarre, gruesome accidents, they chalk it up to the mysterious new party drug found at the scene. But after Dennis s oldest daughter suddenly disappears, Steve stumbles upon a terrifying truth about the supposed psychedelic that will challenge everything he knows about reality and the flow of time itself.
Language: English Subtitle: English SDH
BONUS FEATURES: Commentary with Directors and Producer Making of Previsualization VFX Breakdown Deleted Scene Alternate Ending Trailers
“Twisted, Trippy Trips Through Time” –The New York Times
“a unique, sci-fi-tinged drama with supernatural elements rooted in real-world stakes and emotion.” –The Chicago Tribune
“an inventive time-travel thriller” –Daily Herald
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Please allow 4-8 weeks to receive the prize.
(UPDATE- CONTEST IS OVER ,WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED .Feb 5,2021)
Well Go USA Entertainment MAX CLOUD contest is now over.1.26.2021.No More entries .Winners are being notified and prizes are being sent to them .Follow SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE for upcoming contests, reviews and articles ).
This time, we are having a drawing for the new Sci-Fi Action Comedy Adventure Thriller :
MAX CLOUD
update :01/26/2021 contest is over . No More entries . Winners have been notified .
A combination of JUMANJI and THE LAST STARFIGHTER, MAX CLOUD is about when a video-game enthusiast, Sarah, is transported into her favorite game, she finds herself on an intergalactic prison, home to the most dangerous villains in the galaxy. The only way to escape the game is to complete it.
Teaming up with space hero, Max Cloud (Adkins), Sarah battles the terrifying planet while her best friend, Cowboy, controls the game from her bedroom in Brooklyn. Sit down, plug in, and get ready for a sci-fi adventure like no other.
The title will be released on DVD and BLU RAY on January 19,2021 , but WELL GO US ENTERTAINMENT has given SCARLET three BLU RAY copies for a drawing .
Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1 MPAA rating : NR Director : Martin Owen Media Format : Dolby, Widescreen, Surround Sound Run time : 1 hour and 29 minutes Release date : January 19, 2021 Actors : Scott Adkins, Tommy Flanagan, John Hannah, Lashana Lynch Language : English (DTS 5.1) Studio : Well Go Usa Number of discs : 1 2K Blu Ray Region ‘A’ Optional English Subtitles
11.26.2021 – update -CONTEST IS NOW OVER – NO MORE ENTRIES. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES ARE GOING OUT. Thank you. Follow Scarlet The Film Magazine for future contests, reviews, articles.
In the body of the email Put in you name and address
Then answer this question :
What is you Science Fiction Comedy or Fantasy Comedy film ?
That’s all you need to do.
Only One Entry Per Person .
Include your name and mailing address so winners can be notified and their prize mailed.
DEADLINE is January 26 ,2021 . Entries received after that date will not be counted.
11.26.2021 – update -CONTEST IS NOW OVER – NO MORE ENTRIES. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED ADND THEIR PRIZES ARE GOING OUT. Thank you. Follow Scarlet The Film Magazine for future contests, reviews, articles.
Winners will be drawn randomly and then notified January 26,2021 , with their prizes sent out soon after .
Only one entry per person. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. You must be at least 18 to enter. You must live in the United States or Canada. All prizes are awarded “as is.” Prizes are nontransferable and cannot be exchanged. No substitute prize will be awarded to a winner who declines to accept a prize. Three(3) winners will be selected randomly.
Please allow 4-8 weeks to receive the prize.
11.26.2021 – update -CONTEST IS NOW OVER – NO MORE ENTRIES. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES ARE GOING OUT. Thank you. Follow Scarlet The Film Magazine for future contests, reviews, articles.
Now Film Detective has given the 4K cleanup restoration to GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN. G.F.T.U. was a low budget quickie that came and went to theatres back in 1958. It was often a co-bill with SHE-DEMONS, another Astor Picture, both directed by Richard E. Cunha (1922-2005). Cunha also directed two other Astor horror flicks that year, FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER and MISSLE TO THE MOON.
G.F.T.U. is most notable today for it being one of the low budget films that make-up genius Jack Pierce worked upon after Universal International booted him from the studio in 1946. The man who created the definitive look of Frankenstein’s creation was now working on films shot with extraordinarily little resources and less time for creative experimentation. Pierce’s output for 1958 included applying hair to 51-year-old stuntman Gil Perkins to turn him into the TEENAGE MONSTER (Howco,1958) as well as the fuller’s earth coating of 6’ 6” actor Buddy Baer for G.F.T.U.
51 year old teenage monster
The plot: A series of animal mutilations have recently happened in an area called Devil’s Crag (one of the working titles for the film were “Giant of Devil’s Crag “) and now a local known as old man Harold Banks (an inside joke, as that was the name of the picture’s special effects man, as well as visual effects on MISSLE TO THE MOON) has been found murdered.
The body is brought into town by Sheriff Parker (western star BobSteele, who had portrayed Curly in the classic OF MICE AND MEN, Hal Roach, 1939) The townspeople talk of the area being cursed, and Indian Joe (western actor Billy Dix, in a wig. Dix also had a small part as a storm trooper in SHE DEMONS.) talks about the area being a burial ground for his ancestor and talks of the curse.
Sheriff Parker goes to Geologist Wayne Brooks (Ed Kemmer ,who had starred in the ABC-TV science fiction classic SPACE PATROL from 1950-5. In 1958, he also headlined Bert I. Gordon’s THE SPIDER, AIP) who has been working in the area. Brooks is also a suspect since it seems he did not get along with the late Banks.
Brooks becomes friends with Professor Cleveland (Morris Ankrum, HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, AIP, 1958, as well as a gruff military type in many 1950s sci fi films), an archeologist, and his daughter Janet (SallyFraser, WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, AIP,1958, as well as THE SPIDER, both for Bert I Gordon). Both had arrived when the townsfolk were discussing the murder of Banks as well.
Cleveland has been studying the history of the area to a group of Spanish Conquistadors led by Vargas (Baer). Vargas, a giant of a man, was a violent man who broke away from the main expedition and vanished with a few followers up in the Devil’s Crag some 500 years ago. Meanwhile, Brooks makes an amazing discovery about the soil in the area, wherein he finds a lizard long thought extinct preserved and alive. He theorizes that the soil induces a sort of suspended animation and preserves living creatures.
Having found an old broken cross that he believes is from Vargas’ party, they use a metal detector to search the area for other artifacts. Janet is the one who finds the location of the burial area of the lost Spaniards. A thunderstorm comes through and freshly cleared soil shows more of that preservative dirt that saved the lizard, as well as spotting a giant battle axe. They decide to retire to their camp site for the night and investigate further in the morning.
During the night, Vargas comes alive, and stumbles down to their campsite. Janet, however, has a gun with her, which she fires off, startling the giant. The man out of his time goes staggering off, only to find other victims.
The film has a lot of plot and continuity errors. We hear of animal mutilations and the murder of Banks as the film begins, but Vargas is not shown rising from the earth until 36 minutes into the 77-minute film. Who then was responsible for the killings before Vargas arises? During a climatic fight, it begins snowing but in certain shots there is no snow, etc. The joys of low budget filmmaking. The budget for the film was $54,000 for a six-day shoot, so retakes and time are not luxuries afforded to indie filmmakers. The budget was 30K on hand as well as $24K deferred. That includes renting locations, transport, feeding, housing, as well as film stock, cast and crew salaries, plus optical effects costumes and makeup.
The film has long since slipped into public domain and thus has been seen in prints on television and home video releases varying from good to very scratchy and splice ridden.
Now, FILM DETECTIVE has gotten the original camera negative and made a brand new 4 K transfer. The print is incredibly sharp, complimenting director Cunha’s photography (he did double duty on the picture).
They also have provided yellow easy to read optional subtitles, though there are a few misspellings in the extras section (the director’s name, for instance, or Grauman’s Chinese Theatre).
Other extras with this blu ray release are
A running audio commentary by Tom Weaver, filmmaker, and film fan/filmmaker Larry Blamire (LOST SKELTON OF CADAVRA, Columbia, 2001, inspired by films like G.F.T.U.). Weaver reveals a personal connection to this film, and the kindness that the filmmakers bestowed upon him. The commentary also uses audio clips of the late filmmaker, and some sound effects that seem influenced by Ghoulardi.
A second running commentary with co-star Gary Crutcher, who has fond memories of his first film role some sixty-two years later.
Ballyhoo Motion Pictures provides two new featurettes.
The first is YOU’RE A B-MOVIE STAR, CHARLIE BROWN -an interview by Daniel Griffith with co star Gary Crutcher, covering some of the same territory as his running commentary, but fascinating and fun, nonetheless.
THE MAN WITH A BADGE: BOB STEELE IN THE 1950s- C. Courtney Joyner (screenwriter of PRISON, Empire ,1987) and how big a deal it was to have Steele (January 23, 1907 – December 21, 1988) in this film.
from F TROOP -1965-7.WB-TV
A Booklet enclosed inside the disc case written by Tom Weaver about the making of the picture with some nice photos.
If you love 1950s B movies, this looks to be a must have to add to your collection.
Film Detective has truly gone all out on this one.
John Martin Feeney ,better known as John Ford, was and remains one of the cinemas greatest storytellers. From 1917 until 1976 , he was able to tell adventure filled stories with a lot of humanity and heart, developing a stock company of performers and technicians who would work with him again and again, bringing a uniformity of quality to his numerous projects.
He basically saved John Wayne from low budget B movies and turned him into an international star with STAGECOACH(Walter Wagner/U.A.,1939) and Wayne would return again and again to work with “Pappy”(his nickname for the director),with both delivering some of the best films of their respective careers , reaching their apex with the romance comedy THE QUIET MAN (Argosy/Republic ,1952, was also available from Olive Signature on Blu Ray ,and has become a sought after collector’s item).
Ford and Wayne made three films that have come to be known as the “Cavalry Trilogy”, made up of FORT APACHE ( Argosy/RKO ,1948), SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (Argosy/ RKO ,1949) ,and this film ,RIO GRANDE (Argosy /Republic,1950). Though not directly related to each other, and made at two different studios ,with Wayne and various actors reappearing in the films, there is a unity in the stories about courage and honor .
The great Victor McLaglen
The film was also the first of five films that Wayne would co star with the wonderful Maureen O’Hara , three of which Ford directed them together in.
In 1879, Texas settlers are being attacked by Apache warriors who after the skirmishes, flee over the border to Mexico, outside of U.S. jurisdiction. During a recent attack, they have captured an Apache leader . Lt Col Kirby Yorke (Wayne), is hampered in his efforts due to lack of adequate troops. He is sent a group of mostly raw recruits to deal with this problem, among them is his son Trooper Jeff Yorke (16 year old Claude Jarman,Jr.,who had won an Academy Award for his wonderful work in 1946 for THE YEARLING,MGM). Jeff had flunked out of West Point, which does not make the relationship between father and son any better.
Adding to the tension is the arrival of Kathleen (Maureen O’Hara), Kirby’s estranged wife. She has arrived to buy out her son’s enlistment , only to discover her son does not want her to. Adding to the frisson is Sgt Major Quincannon(Victor McLaglen , Oscar winner for THE INFORMER ,RKO,1935),Kirby’s right hand man, who, during the Civil War, set torch to Bridedale, Kathleen’s Southern Estate.
The troops experience another attack from the Apaches who free their leader. Lt General Phillip Sheridan (JCarrol Naish , HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN ,Universal ,1944 ) orders Kirby decides to pursue the Apaches even into Mexico.
Yorke goes with two of his older troopers, Travis Tyree (Ben Johnson ,a former ranch hand who turned stunt man and small uncredited film roles, before Ford gave him a nice role in THREE GODFATHERS,Argosy/MGM ,1948 and becoming one of Ford’s stock company) and Daniel “Sandy”Boone (Harry Carey Jr ,the son of an actor who also was part of Ford’s reliables and was active until 2005,age 84 ). Also along is Jeff.
Ben Johnson
To complicate matters, they find out that a group of children have been taken hostage.
RIO GRANDE was a film that wasn’t originally planned by Ford. He was desperate to do THE QUIET MAN(finally made at Republic, 1952), but he could not convince any studio to produce it for him. Finally ,studio head Herbert J Yates made a deal with the director – he could make his passion project ,which Yates felt would be a prestige film but money loser , if he made RIO GRANDE for the studio as a more likely money maker.
Oddly, while RIO GRANDE did well , the little prestige film THE QUIET MAN was the bigger hit, becoming one of 1952’s top ten money makers. Still , RIO GRANDE made back double it’s cost for the studio .
The Olive Film release was previously released in a bare bones 1080p release in 2012. Now it has been given a special edition (Signature) release full of extras. The film is presented in DTS-HD 1.0 Mono that is very clear, whether it be the songs of The Sons of The Pioneers ,the battles, or a quiet scene between Wayne and O’Hara.
Ported over from Olive FilmsDVD release in 2002 is an informative Leonard Maltin documentary on THE MAKING OF RIO GRANDE .
– Audio commentary track by Nancy Schoenberger (author of Wayne and Ford: The Films, the Friendship, and the Forging of an American Hero,Deckle Edge Publishers, 2017 ) who goes into great detail about the relationship of the director and actor, as well as the making of the film). Newly recorded for this release.
STRENGTH & COURAGE – Patrick Wayne ,who made his uncredited debut as one of the kidnapped kids in the film, talks about his father.
New mini featurette ,BIGGER THAN LIFE –Claude Jarman Jr talks about working on this film which he says is his personal favorite.
New mini featurette TELLING REAL HISTORIES – Actor Raoul Trujillo (native actor, JAMESTOWN ,Sky ,2017-19) discusses how Native Americans were depicted in films.
Raoul Trujillo in JAMESTOWN
• New Interview –SONGS OF THE RIO GRANDE – film historian Marc Wanamaker (Early Poverty Row Studios by E.J. Stephens and Marc Wanamaker ;Arcadia ,2014)discusses The Sons of The Pioneers and their work in this film.
Booklet by Paul Andrew Hutton (American Cultural Historian,who has acted as historical consultant on several films, like THE MISSING ,Columbia, 2003) with original essay about the film.
Original Theatrical Trailer
RIO GRANDE is indeed a classic of American Moviemaking , and should be in the possession of any lover of films.
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