Silent Film Fest - Day 4 - Nosferatu (1922)

Ah, what has become of the vampire? When did they become the good guys, the object of teenage angst and lust? For that matter, when did they themselves become full of teenage angst and lust? Whatever happened to the vampire who was a creature to be feared - the creature of the night who was a hunter subject to an uncotrollable bloodlust? Where now is the vampire who changes into a bat or mist, who controls and communes with the creatures of the night, who is a nearly unstoppable force that threatens to overrun towns and turn innocents into hellborn creatures like itself?

In short, when did vampires begin to sparkle in the sunlight instead of cringing and turning to dust?

Saturday TV - Batteries Not Included

And now, a word from our sponsors, courtesy of collector Jon Behrens:




("Batteries Not Included" was compiled by Jon Behrens, and is posted under an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States Creative Commons License as an example of what can be done with Public Domain material.)

Silent Movie Fest - Day 3 - Tarzan of the Apes (1918)

Just a short note to start things off: You may have noticed that instead of "Silent Movie Week", the title above says "Silent Movie Fest". that's because, truth be told, I'm simply finding that trying to keep to a one movie per day schedule is negatively affecting the quality of the posts that I'm able to do here, and not giving me the time to really treat them properly. Therefore, I'm going to be cutting the schedule back a bit. For instance, rather than trying to cover all five of the silent films I'd planned to this week, I'll still be doing the same number of films just over a two-week period instead on one. Not only will this change in schedule allow me to spend a bit more time with each film, it will give me a chance to work on some other projects that I hope you'll enjoy, including making some cosmetic changes to the site and updating the Master List which has been woefully neglected of late. There are also some new surprises coming down the lane which I'm not quite ready to announce yet, but I think will be a lot of fun.


Ok, enough of that for now, let's move on to today's film, shall we?

Tarzan. Lord Greystoke. The Lord of the Apes. When most people think of cinematic representations of the jungle hero, their mind immediately goes to Johnny Weismuller, whom many consider the definitive interpreter of the role. Weismuller was not, howevver, the first cinematic Tarzan. That honor actually goes to Elmo Lincoln who portrayed the Apeman in two feature films and a 15 chapter serial from 1918 to 1921. He also actually appeared as a circus roustabout in the 1942 Weismuller outing Tarzan's New York Adventure and had a small role in 1949's Tarzan's Magic Fountain which starred Lex Barker as the jungle king.

(Ok, for those sticklers out there, I'll grant you that technically Gordon Griffith, who plays the young Lord Greystoke in the film is the first cinematic Tarzan, but it's not really until Lincoln steps in that he's actually the Tarzan that we recognise as the Lord of the Jungle.)

Silent Movie Week - Day Two - The Lost World (1925)

Poor Professor Challenger - though he may very well be as intelligent, his temper, I fear, made him always destined be live in the shadow of his literary step-brother Shelock Holmes. Unfortunately for the professor, this secondary creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never was able to burst into the limelight or gain the popularity of the famed detective. Even in today's feature, the second in our look at silent films, he is truly upstaged by a pack of dinosaurs.

Of course, these were not your ordinary dinosaurs, to be sure. Instead they were the work of stop-motion pioneer Willis O'Brien, who would go on to also create a certain Empire-State-Building-climbing, Fay-Wray-loving giant ape. By then, the creations of O'Brien would be truly spectacular, but even in this early effort they are quite amazing. How amazing? Well according to a report published in the New York Times the day after Conan Doyle himself showed some of the test footage to the Society of American Magicians, "(Conan Doyle’s) monsters of the ancient world, or of the new world which he has discovered in the ether, were extraordinarily lifelike. If fakes, they were masterpieces"

Silent Film Week - Day One - A Trip To the Moon (1902)

Hiya Kiddies! Today we begin a week I've been looking forward to since I began this blog: Silent Film Week. Instead of the usual routine, each day this week we'll take a look at one of the great films of the truly early days of cinema before the movies learned to talk.

One of the reasons that I think I find silent films so interesting is that they truly employ a vocabulary all their own. Of course, everyone associates silent films with broad pantomimic gestures, and intertitles (those cards that pop up in the middle of the action with either a description of what is happening or a bit of dialogue) but really that's only the tip of the iceberg.

What you're also seeing really is the slow development and discovery of what is possible on film and what truly creative people can do when faced with a new medium, and rarely is that more evident than in today's film, A Trip to the Moon.

Saturday TV - This Is Your Life

Y'know, Kiddies, I suspect that with all the papparazzi and stalkers and such, a show such as This Is Your Life, at least as originally conceived, just wouldn't work today. Of course, considering Punked and other surprise shows, maybe all they'd need to do is get Ashton Kutcher to host it.

The concept was simple, really. Each week, host Ralph Edwards would surprise someone, usually, though not always, a clebrity, and take them to the studio where, in front of a live audience he would begin to reount the details of their biography. Where the true fun (and sometimes pathos) came in, though, was that along with the retelling, the network would bring in various people from throughout the guests life, often people they had not seen in years, and the show would turn into a mini reuinion as these people would share stories about the guest of honor. Quite often, it was these stories, rather than the actual biographical information imparted, that were the heart of the show.

In the episode posted below, for instance, the surprise guest is Lou Costello, half of the famous comedy team of Abbott and Costello. However, as host Edwards says at the start, if all you know about Lou is his onscreen antics, then you really don't know the reall Lou Costello. Let's take a look, shall we?



You can find more episodes of This Is Your Life by searching archive.org or on DVD from Amazon: This Is Your Life - The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1



Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

No posts this week

The Professor will be back Saturday, May 1st with new posts. And be sure to join us next week (May 4-7)for Silents Week!

Saturday TV - You Bet Your Life

I suppose you could say this was one case where someone would be happy to hear the word "Duck!" intead of scared.

The story goes that Groucho Marx was supposed to make a guest appearance on Bob Hope's radio show. Miffed at having been made to wait too long in the dressing room, when he finally came on the show and was asked by Hope "Groucho, what brings you here from the hot desert?" his response was "Hot desert, my foot, I've been standing in the cold waiting room for 40 minutes." From that point on, Hope never regained control of his show, as Groucho improvised and wisecracked his way through the rest of the alotted time and beyond. Meanwhile producer John Guedel was listening in and afterward approached Groucho about hosting a game show that would be part interview and part quiz, but which would mostly focus on Groucho's impromptu style. At first reluctant, Groucho finally agreed, and You Bet Your Life was born.

The show began on radio in 1947 and moved to TV in the 50's. for awhile it was actually run both on the radio and television. The show lasted until 1961 when it was finally brought down in the wake of the 50's game show scandals. (Though YBYL itself was clean, because of the accusations of cheating running rampant through the industry, the public simply soured on game shows in general, and not even Groucho's brashness (nor a name change to The Groucho Show) could save it.)

Here, then, is an episode from the mid 50's:


Unitl next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

Friday Funnies - Happy Go Lovely (1951)

David Niven is as suave as ever.

Cesar Romero is thankfully nowhere near as over the top as the Joker.

Vera-Ellen has incredible legs.

It's a film about backstage manuverings and a play that's about to run out of money.

It's also a film about mistaken identity.

It also (for some reason) takes place in Scotland.

For a musical comedy it really has very few musical numbers.

The worst (and really the best) that can be said about it is that it's charming.

Here's a preview:


And here's the skinny:
Title: Happy Go Lovely
Release Date: 1951
Running Time: 97min
Color
Starring: Vera-Ellen, David Niven, Cesar Romero
Directed by: H. Bruce Humberstone
Produced by: Marcel Hellman
Distributed by: Associated British Pathe, RKO Radio Pictures

Happy Go Lovely is available to watch or download for free here.
It's also available on DVD from Amazon: Happy Go Lovely [Remastered] [1951].

And Netflix has it for to save: Happy Go Lovely

Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

New Blogcritics Feature Page

"From the Public Domain Treasure Chest" is now a regularly appearing feature at Blogcritics.org! Check out the new feature page complete with banner logo: http://blogcritics.org/video/feature/from-the-public-domain-treasure-chest/  and look for new articles to start going up there next week! Regular readers of the blog shouldn't worry, though, I'll still be here daily sharing some great (and some not so great) movies with you. These articles will simply give me more room to expand on certain topics and hopefully reach an ever expanding audience to spread the word about all the treasures to be found in the public domain!

Silent Thursday - The End of an Era

In anticipation of Silents Week coming up in May, I thought I'd share with you today this documentary which chronicles the transition from silent films to "talkies". It's roughly 50 minutes long and is in five parts which should (if I've made this playlist right) play one after the other. Enjoy, and until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting!

-Professor Damian

Whodunnit Wednesday - Money Madness (1948)

Somehow, I don't think Ward Cleaver would approve if he caught the Beav doing this stuff.

Seriously - robbing banks, poisoning a poor, defenseless (though incredibly annoying) old lady, framing her niece as an accomplice - these are not the kinds of actions we usually associate with the man TV Guide ranked as one of the top 50 all-time TV dads.

Actually, before he became known to a generation as the achetypical laid-back suburban-philosophy spewing dad of Wally and the Beaver, Beaumont was regularly known for his tough guy roles. He portrayed hard-boiled detective Michael Shayne in a series of five films beginning in 1946, and guest-starred in a number of detective series on both sides of the law. As a matter of fact, it's said that Beaumont resented his role as Ward Cleaver, feeling that it overshadowed his true abilities.

He definitely strikes a different note in this film, portraying bank robber Steve Clark who has just pulled a $200,000 heist. Looking for a way to safely launder the money, he stops off in a small California town. Stashing the money in a safe-deposit box, Clark quickly gets a job as a cab driver and just as quickly starts making time with local lovely Julie Saunders. Saunders lives alone except for her sickly and demanding (but rich) aunt. When Clark sees the set-up he immerses himself in Julie's life while at the same time poisoning her aunt. His plan is that when the elderly lady dies, Julie will inherit everything in the house, including the robbery money which he will secrete in a trunk in the attic. then they can run away together and be free. The real question, of course, is just how desperate is Julie, and will she go along with the plan.

Let's take a look, shall we?


And, the skinny:
Title: Money Madness
Release Date: 1948
Running Time: 73min
Black and White
Starring: Hugh Beaumont, Frances Rafferty
Directed by: Sam Newfield
Produced by: Sigmund Neufeld

Money Madness is available to watch or download for free here.
It's also available for purchase on DVD from Amazon: Money Madness.


Until next time, Happy Teasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

New Blogcritics Article

Just had a new article published at Blogcitics.org. This time it's a look at the 1945 movie Detour, and why it's such a good example of the film noir genre. Just click the link above and check it out!

Tuesday Terrors - Cat-Women of the Moon (1953)

Ok, let's be honest. The title of today's flick is Cat-Women of the Moon. It features "The Hollywood Cover Girls". Having read those two sentences, you already know whether you want to see this one or give it a pass, and there's really no need for me to tell you any more. Of course, has that ever stopped yer Ol' Professor before? No. Is it going to stop me this time? Nope.

From the so-bad-it's-actually-still-really-bad school, this B-reeler was actually created during the height of the 50's 3-D craze, and yes, it was originally released in 3-D. Why? Unfortunately, as seems to be increasingly the case today, the answer appears to be "because they could". Admittedly watching a 2-D print today may not have the same ambience, but there really seems to be no effort at all to exploit the possibilities of the process.

So what we have here is sort of a contrast of styles. The first part of the film is a fairly typical space-faring adventure (well, typical if you accept that future space-farers will be traveling in lawn recliners and office chairs), and the second part is their encounter with the titular Cat-Women who are the last of a race of people who apparently have been trapped on the moon for around 2-million years. Having developed a telepathic rapport with the lone female crew member of the space-ship, (who just happens to be the navigator for this flight which apparently has not even tried to figure out where the optimum landing spot is before they took off) the Cat-Women subtly direct her to direct the craft near to their cave-lair. Their plan is to overtake the men on the flight (exploiting their "weak points") and then hijack the ship so they can escape to the Earth.

The Cat-Women are certainly suitably slinky in their black tights, damsel-in-distress Helen is definitely distressed, the men are all brash and brave and curt, and the spider... what? I forgot to mention the spider? Oh, yeah, there's a giant spider. Well, actually there's something resembling a giant spider puppet that the men spend some time struggling with before... well, anyway, yeah, there's a giant spider.

Ok, let's take a look, shall we?


And now the Skinny:
Title: Cat-Women of the Moon
Release Date: 1953
Running Time: 64min
Black and White, 3-D
Starring: Victor Jory, Marie Windsor
Directed by: Arthur Hilton
Produced by: Jack Rabin, Al Zimbalist
Distributed by: Astor Pictures

Cat-Women of the Moon is available to watch or download for free here.
It's also available for purchase on DVD from Amazon: Cat-Women of the Moon.
Netflix also has this DVD available for rental: Cat-Women of the Moon.

Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

Monday Oaters - Billy the Kid Returns (1938)

Ok, Kiddies, let's get this one straight from the start. I know we've talked before about films like Jesse James meets Frankenstein's Daughter and Billy the Kid versus Dracula, but I'm sorry to report that, though Billy is shot and killed by Pat Garrett at the very first of this flick, despite what the title might lead you to believe, he does not actually return as a zombie. Instead, he doesn't so much "return" as he is replaced by Roy Rogers who, it just so happens, turns out to be a *ahem* dead ringer for the Kid. Quickly convincing Garrett to let him masquerade as the infamous killer in order to thwart a brand of villainous ranchers who are threatening the local homesteaders. Promising that, unlike Billy, he won't actually do any killing, (though with a total of seven songs in this less-than-an-hour b-reeler he might well sing them to death) Roy, of course, saves the day.

This was actually Roy's second leading role in a film. Earlier in the year he had taken over the lead in Under Western Stars when the original lead, Gene Autry, walked out on his contract. Roy had already been building popularity both as a singing cowboy film star under his original name Leonard Slye, and with his western musical group The Sons of the Pioneers. When the opportunity presented itself, Roy quickly stepped into the role, and through numerous movie roles and his own TV show (in which he appeared alongside his wife, Dale Evans) he quickly became Autry's number one competitor for the title of America's favorite singing cowboy.

Rather than a trailer for this flick, here's a short tribute to Roy's group The Sons of the Pioneers which features them singing one of their biggest hits, "Tumbling Tumbleeeds":


And now, the Skinny:
Title: Billy the Kid Returns
Release Date: 1938
Running Time: 53min
Black and White
Starring: Roy Rogers
Directed by: Joseph Kane
Produced by: Charles E. Ford
Released by: Republic Pictures

Billy the Kid Returns id available to watch or download for free here.
It's also available for purchase on DVD from Amazon: Billy The Kid Returns.
It appears to be out of stock at Netflix, but you can reserve it: Billy the Kid Returns.

Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

No Updates Thursday thru Saturday

Hiya Kiddies! Afraid I'm going to be taking a few days off from updates to catch up some other things, but I'll be back 4/18 with your the next chapter of our Flash Gordon serial.

Until then, Happy Treasure Hunting
-Professor Damian

Whodunnit Wednesday - The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935)

There have been so many different adaptations, interpretations and reiterations of the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great detective that it is often quite nearly impossible to keep up with them. Wikipedia lists the first filmed Holmes story as 1900's Sherlock Holmes Baffled, and since that time there must have been hundreds of different actors portraying the famed investigator right up to last year's entry starring Robert Downey Jr. Some of these interpretations, of course, have been more faithful (and some more successful) than others. A while back, I wrote about one of my personal favorite portrayals, that of Basil Rathbone in the series of films produced by Universal Studios. Today I'd like to take a look at another, slightly earlier series of films which unfortunately have been overshadowed by those Universal films.

Arthur Wotner was born in 1875 and portrayed Holmes in a series of five films from 1931 to 1937. Of these five films, the first, The Sleeping Cardinal was, until recently, thought to be a lost film. Unfortunately, though prints have been found of this one, his second, The Missing Rembrant is still considered lost. nonetheless, the films that we do have show Wotner as a Holmes that is more cerebral than many interpretations, and who also definitely looks the part. Wotner is not as athletic as some of the later Holmes, relying much more on his deductive prowess, and that serves him in good stead in today's feature, his fourth outing as the titular detective, The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes.

Of course, a large part of the credit for this must go to the screenwriters who have hewn fairly closely to the original source material, in this case, Doyle's fourth Holmes novel, The Valley of Fear. One of the trickier aspects of any Holmes story is that since he is truly smarter than anyone else in the room (unless, of course, his brother Mycroft also happens to be present), he has often already figured out the main puzzle of the story before the explanation of the situation is finished. That is why he works better in a short story format than in a longer work such as a novel or film, and why, so often, those longer works feel padded with action scenes or obstacles that do not really belong. In this particular instance, Doyle figured out a unique way to lengthen the story. Almost one third of the book is taken up by an extended flashback to Holme's client's past as a miner in the U.S. The movie makers have kept this flashback, and though it does cause the film to drag a bit in the middle, it also gives the film a feeling of having more substance than other efforts at padding. On the flip side, the producers also felt the need to include Holmes' arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty in the film, when he does not appear in the original story, but that change does not distract too much from the overall quality of the film.

Note should also be made of Ian Fleming's (no, not the James Bond author) interpretation of the role of Dr. Watson. Instead of the bumbling oaf that Watson often seems, in Fleming's hands we see a Watson that lets us understand why Holmes would have kept him around. After all, when compared to the brilliance of Holmes, anyone is going to seem second rate, and it is important to remember that Watson was not only considered a first-rate doctor, but also a highly trained military man.

There's no embedable trailer online that I've been able to find, but here's a clip from the first part of the movie which introduces not only Holmes and Watson to the audience, but also the detective's arch enemy:


And now, the Skinny:
Title: The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes
Release Date: 1935
Running Time: 75min
Black and White
Starring: Arthur Wotner, Ian Fleming
Directed by: Leslie S. Hiscott
Produced by: Julius Hagen

The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes is available to watch or download for free here.
It's also available for purchase on DVD from Amazon:The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes.

Netflix also has the DVD available for rental: The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes.

One final note before I take my leave today: I'd like to give a quick shout-out to Anthony DP Mann, co-host of the Horror Etc. podcast who is currently producing and starring in what looks to be a fun interpretation of Holmes called Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow Watchers. It's even been authorised by the Holmes estate. Find out more by clicking the link, and if you're at all interested in intelligent and spirited conversation about the horror and sci-fi genres, I highly recommend you check out Tony and Ted's podcast.
Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

Tuesday Terrors - Carnival of Souls (1962)

Sometimes a horror flick will depend upon things like jump-scares in order to try to shock its audience. You know the kind of thing I mean: the lights have gone out in the heroine's house, she's trying to find a candle, opens up a closet door, and out jumps a screeching cat that has apparently not before made a sound in protest of being trapped in there. Others rely on special effects to show us all kinds of creepy crawly aliens or ghosts that appear and disappear and attack both the viewer and the protagonist. For an especially egregious example of this, see the 1999 remake of The Haunting which turns one of the great psychological thrillers of the 60's into a showcase for bad and ill-considered cgi effects. Then there are the movies which rely on creating an atmosphere in order to provide their chills and thrills, movies which set the hero or heroine in a situation that seems just slightly off-kilter and then slowly turn up the oddness until there is no denying that something strange is going on and they must eventually confront whatever is causing it. Today's film, Carnival of Souls, fits squarely into the latter category.

Conceived when director-producer Herk Harvey was vacationing in Salt Lake City and became enamored of the abandoned Saltair Pavilion on the banks of the Great Salt Lake, Carnival of Souls tells the story of Mary Henry, a young organist who is abbout to take a job at a church in a new town. Before leaving for her new position, however, Mary is out with some friends, and they are challenged to a drag race by a car full of boys. Pulling onto a bridge, the girls' car is bumped by the other and goes careening over the edge. Police and rescue workers show, and depite their best efforts they cannot find the car or any survivors in the depths of the river. Suddenly, however, Mary appears crawling onto the bank, and it's deemed a miracle that she survived.

She may have survived the wreck, but something has changed about Mary. Moving to her new job she declares that she is never coming back to her old town, and when she gets to the new one she seems cold and distant from people, having trouble fitting in. She has also begun to have visions of a pale old man, at first just taking over her reflection, but eventually appearing before her in physical form. She is having other visions too. On her way to the town she noticed an old abandoned amusement park, and not only does she feel strangely drawn to it, but she seems to be having waking dreams of ghouls dancing and cavorting through the park. Most disturbing of all, however, is the change in Mary's music. Once described by the minister who has become her boss as music to move the soul, he is soon denouncing it as profane and blasphemous. Soon, Mary has no coice but to investigate the old carnival and see what significance it has in what has happened to her.

Filmed on a reported budget of $33,000, in and around Salt Lake City and Lawrence, Kansas, using mostly local actors and actresses, Carnival of Souls is surprisingly effective with its otherworldly atmospherics and mounting sense of dread. It's one of those films that gives you that creeping sense of "something's not quite right here, but I'm not sure exactly what it is".

Here's a trailer:


And the Skinny:
Title: Carnival of Souls
Release Date: 1962
Running Time: 82min
Black and White
Starring: Candace Hilligoss
Directed by: Herk Harvey
Produced by: Herk Harvey
Released by: Herts-Lion International corp.

Carnival of Souls is available to watch or download for free here.
It's available to purchase on DVD from Amazon: Carnival of Souls - Criterion Collection.

Netflix also has the DVD available for rental or to watch instantly: Carnival of Souls.

Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

Monday Oaters - The Fargo Kid (1940)

Ah, the classic case of mistaken identity. I suppose it's been a staple of storytelling ever since there have been stories. The classic greek play Oedipus Rex hinges on a tragic case of mistaken identity, as does Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona. Today's police procedurals and soap operas alike take full advantage of look-alikes and evil twins. And classsic westerns were no stranger to the formula either, though today's film does put an interesting kink in the idea. In The Fargo Kid, though our protagonist is mistaken for a well-known gunman, it's not so much because he looks like the bad guy, but because he is riding a horse that he won from him in a duel.

Tim Holt, the star of today's feature, was a mainstay in westerns from is first appearance in 1928's The Vanishing Pioneer until his last in 1952's Desert Passage. In all, he racked up, according to IMDB some 75 credits, including the role he is probably best known for, starring opposite Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

In The Fargo Kid, Holt plays, perhaps not surprisingly, The Fargo Kid, who wins a sorrel horse from gunslinger Deuce Mallory. Unfortunately for Fargo, not only does Deuce's reputation precede him but so does the look of his horse. When he arrives in Micaville, Fargo finds himself the center of a number of conspiracies. He is hired (as Deuce) to kill a prospector who is close to a gold strike. The local sherrif has also identified Fargo as Mallory and intends to arrest him. Then there is the real Mallory, who intends to not only kill Farogo but retrieve both the horse and $5000 that Fargo got with it.

Let's take a quick look at The Fargo Kid, shall we?


Oh, wait. That was the wrong Fargo, wasn't it? Alright, then, let's try this one:


Hrmmm... still the wrong Fargo. Darn this whole mistaken-identity thing. It can muck everything up. Ok, One more try:


Ah, the heck with it - let's just get on with the Skinny:
Title: The Fargo Kid
Release Date: 1940
Running Time: 63min
Black and White
Starring: Tim Holt
Directed by: Edward Killy
Produced by: Bert Gilroy
Released by: RKO Radio Pictures

The Fargo Kid can be watched or downloaded for free here.
It doesn't appear to be available on DVD at this time.

Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

New Ways to Interact with The Professor

Just a short update to point out some of the new buttons over there on the right hand side. Yep, your ol' Professor is now on Facebook and Twitter and also writing for BlogCritics. To become a fan on Facebook, you can just click the button over there, or you can visit my Facebook page by clicking here. To get updates and more on Twitter, again just click the button or click here to visit my profile. Finally, check out my first BlogCritics article here, and look for more soon.

Ok, we now return you, to your regularly scheduled blog...