Teenie-1

I remember seeing this movie with my brother and some of his friends when I was 7 years old. BIG mistake. It left quite an impact on me at the time. Very reluctantly, 51 years later, I caught it again on Turner Classic Movies and it seemed like yesterday, I got the scares all over again and had nightmares all week long. Basil Rathbone, in all his usual and nefarious greatness, plays a neurosurgeon who is determined on finding a way to cure his comatose wife of her brain tumor. With the assistance of an equally nefarious surgeon, he conducts surgical experiments on the brains of living, breathing and unwilling subjects with the help of a drug called "the black sleep" which renders them unconscious long enough for him to do his dirty work, if they're so lucky to survive the surgery.

***Spoiler*** And dirty work it is, I must say. For its time, the graphic nature of the brain surgery scene (especially the one on the sailor, played by George Sawaya), left nothing to the imagination. You can actually see Rathbone performing surgery on Sawaya's (dummy) head, (like they do on Nip/Tuck and other medical shows), and what's supposed to be CSF fluid drains from the area. No blood, just a watery substance that literally oozes from the tissue as it's handled. It's nasty, folks, and you feel every single cut, twist, squeeze and probe that the scene offers. You will definitely squirm in your seat! It's been said that Rathbone was directed by a real-life Hollywood neurosurgeon as to what to do in this scene. In Rathbone's website you can see the dummy head in one of the behind-the-scenes photographs. But enough of the gross-out stuff.

The horror comes at you from all sides and from all the characters - Tor Johnson with no eyeballs, Deranged John Carradine with his very deranged plan of escape, the female subject (she just appears out of nowhere and her make up is very effective with what appeared to me to be half of a head), Akim Tamiroff as the "Igor" to Dr. Cadman's "Frankenstein," and good old Lon Chaney, Jr. at his usually twisted best as the one character for whom you really feel sorry for (he played a lot of these, didn't he?) although he tries to beat the crap out of Tor Johnson and vice versa then you don't know who to feel sorry for because Tor's character was an innocent, too. Lots of action there. Even the sets, the lighting, the sound effects, the music - like the Universal horror films of the 1940s, this is very atmospheric and will scare the s*** out of you. I just wouldn't advise eating while you watch it.

I agree with many other comments posted here about this film about why it should never have been given a poor rating by critics. I was ten years old when this film was released and wanted to see it but never did until today. I saw it on TCM and boy, what a real treat to have seen so many of the old stars that have since left us but their talent and memories still linger in our minds and hearts. I never knew that Shirley Jones was a dancer until the scene where Dan Dailey is filming a dance sequence with her and another dancer and Bobby Darin is singing the story. This is when talent was talent, compared to some of the junk they call talent today.

Cantinflas could have truly been called the Mexican Charlie Chaplin, with his character so reminiscent of The Little Tramp yet unique in his own little way. He definitely did not get the credit that he deserved.

Take the kids away from the raunchy cartoons and violence and rent this one for a family viewing night. They will get a kick out of Pepe's horse and his little donkey. I plan to purchase a copy for myself to keep in my collection for viewing on a rainy day. This is one of my all-time favorites.

OK, so I was curious to see what all the hype was about this film. What a waste of $ 9.95! I followed the beginning rather well until the plot suddenly changed and the scientist became the nut case and the nut case turned another guy into another nut case that ravaged a woman and then turned into a nut case that ate a cat's eyeball and then turned two women on each other with hypodermic needles who both appeared to be nut cases then...geez, I could go on and on but I won't because after the first 10 minutes, it made absolutely no sense to me. And what was with the animals? Cats? Dogs? Frogs? Huh???? I was waiting for cockroaches....

Don't waste your time, folks. Esper's Reefer Madness at least made more sense.

I recently watched this film on video and found myself fast-forwarding through it. It moved very slowly and was difficult to follow and there was way too much talking. All I knew was that Gary Cooper's (his last film) character was witness to a murder while working late in his office one night and that his wife (Deborah Kerr in a really bad performance) suspected that he did it. I believe that there was just no comparing this film to "Psycho" that it didn't even make "Psycho"'s shock grade, except maybe for the murder scene at the very beginning. I don't know if Gary Cooper was ill at the time of the shooting but his performance is very wooden and lifeless. Deborah Kerr was also very disappointing. I've seen the both of them do a much better job. Pass on this one.

People really ought to start lightening up and enjoy humor for what it is, be it gross-out or straight-laced. This show offers both kinds of laughs with its off-the-wall categories and cocky comments from Jimmy Kimmel. To see Ben Stein's expressions when the categories are announced is a laugh in itself. When he makes a mistake, his expressions of shock are priceless. And Jimmy really manages to rub it in. Ben really gets his thinking cap on and it's really fun to see just how much this man really knows. The Clear Eyes commercials did nothing for him - this is his show, by all means. It's all harmless fun, offered by Game Show Network. If you're offended, change the channel! If you're not, then enjoy the fun and laugh a lot.

I missed the pilot episode but caught the one dealing with the twins who didn't want to look like each other any longer. Bizarre story but excellent acting, especially Dylan Walsh. I must say, however, that the graphic surgery scenes are just way too over the top for reality. Liposuction "fat" sprayed on the wall? Come on. That's Hollywood's depiction of surgery - it's much more controlled than that but still for strong stomachs. This is going to be a mega-hit, gross-outs being the strong point. Having to deal with blood and guts in my work but in a more controlled scenario, I guess I'm in for a real treat with these scenes Hollywood style. Some folks just enjoy being grossed out. I personally liked the acting. I've read some comments by real plastic surgeons who found the surgery scenes hilarious. Is it because of the pop music in the background or the excessive gore? Many of the surgeons I work with have Beethoven playing in the background and much of the blood is cleared as they work. Still in all, it's a great show.

***SPOILERS***

The British have always had a knack for making the most convincing, nail-biting mysteries of all time. Woman of Straw is one of them. The story centers around a wheelchair-bound, crotchety old tycoon who eats his help for breakfast, he's so cold and unfeeling. He hires a live-in nurse (Lollobrigida, in one of her very best roles) who manages to keep her cool as he barks out insults to her like she's an animal yet she remains faithful to his needs for living and then some... Then we have the handsome, sexy, horny, conniving, two-faced only-surviving-relative nephew (Connery) who gets Lollobrigida to fall for him while plotting...you know the rest. Typical mystery story line. There's everything here - highbrow put-downs, sex, racial bigotry (towards Johnny Sekka's butler character), betrayal and, of course, murder! The soundtrack featuring much of Beethoven's classic pieces helps to create the mood for much suspense and keeps you there to a hold-your-attention-to-the-end climax that totally blew me away. It would indeed be nice if this were on video. It would be well worth your money. Catch it on AMC or try Turner Classic Movies or a late night movie program and enjoy. {Sean, if you're reading this, would you please do your fans a favor and do one more Bond film where in the end he retires to a country estate with Miss Moneypenny and the character can retire forever? Pierce Brosnan and the rest just don't have "it" to be the James Bond that we all knew and that I still love! You de man, Sean!!!} :)

It's very seldom that I watch any of the current films dealing with murder and the like because I expect to be grossed out by the murder scenes. Not so much here. Matt Damon plays an average dude who is hired by a wealthy businessman to travel to Italy to find his playboy son (the ever-so-delicious Jude Law) and bring him home. "Ain't happenin'," says Jude. He's busy having too much fun with his goody-two-shoes girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow and every Sophia Loren look-alike in the villages. I mean, I wouldn't want to come home to that stuffed shirt,either, especially since I'm spending all his money and living it up! He and Jude become pals for a time until Jude gets sick of him and wants him to get a life of his own. He does, eventually, and that's all I'm going to say. You'll have to see the movie for yourself. But be warned - I guess the writers must've gone on strike because the ending sucked. I sat here when the movie stopped and said, "What the..."

But in spite of the crappy ending, JUDE LAW, YOU ARE LUSCIOUS!!! (even when you've got clothes on!)

Mystery, horror, music, slapstick, suspense - you name it - is all here. And with the all-time greatest horror actors - Lugosi, Karloff and Lorre. All we needed was Chaney with the Larry Talbot character and it would've put the icing on the cake. Who cares about the musical numbers and the singing? It all tied in to the storyline. Kay Kyser is at his best, I think, as the bumbling bandleader who gets all tangled up in this mess of a mystery. With the comic help of Ish Kabibble (who does look like a cross between Jim Carrey and Moe Howard, more the latter) this film manages to deliver chills, suspense and many, many laughs. Peter Lorre alone could've carried the suspense factor but with the other masters added it proved to be a classic.

It's wonderful how the storyline was meshed into that of a musical. That was brilliant writing. The story centers around the typical 40s mystery/horror genre - old mansion, creepy happenings, things flying around in the dark, people stuck because the bridge washed out, and music to shake in your boots by. I can certainly recommend that you check this out if you're a fan of slapstick because the horror line will definitely keep you watching. Great stuff!

Mel Brooks is a comic genius. Everything about him is funny. Anytime someone can take a film of the 20th century and rely solely on sight

gags, cameos by "serious" actors and silliness without a word of dialogue, mind you, is a genius. And this is what Mel Brooks has done here.

He and his goofy counterparts (Dom Deluise and Marty Feldman)are studio writers who try to pull executive Sid Caesar's studio out of

financial ruin by producing a silent movie. They go to all extremes to pull this off, including use of top name stars like Paul Newman(oh, those eyes...), Mel's real-life wife Anne Bancroft, James Caan, Burt Reynolds and even the master mime Marcel Marceau who, ironically, has the only spoken line in the film, "Non!" when asked if he would like to be in Mel's movie. The gags are dumb but so dumb that they're cute and so cute that they're funny. Mel sets out to ridicule Hollywood and, like in so many of his other films, he does just that through endless silliness. Physical comedy and slapstick have always been my cup of tea and these two factors along with Mel's warped mind bring you a very funny, very entertaining film. Let the younger kids stay with Barney, though older kids might get a chuckle or two. A good film to watch if you're sad or down and need some instant cheering up.

This is one of my all-time favorite comedies. It was hilarious. From the opening animation scene of the singing cockroach atop the Statue of Liberty's torch to the end scene where they form the MTV logo, the film manages to get its purpose across - to make you laugh so hard that your stomach hurts. And this is what it did to me. Joe (a country boy from Iowa, played by luscious Jerry O'Connell) comes to the Big Apple in search of a job and his first apartment. The first joke is that he's looking for subsidized housing with a rent of $100/month (!) He finally settles on a seriously rundown tenement occupied by two American cockroaches named Randy and Ralph and their 5,000 singing and dancing family members(they're the big brown ones, folks, and they do fly in real life). Some of the scenes with the garbage and the toilet are enough to make you hurl but it's all in fun. **SPOILER**He meets a girl (Megan Ward) who wants to change the image of the ghetto by building a community garden on a vacant lot but her politician father (a very funny Robert Vaughn) has other plans and tries to have the building torn down. Cockroaches to the rescue! My favorite scene was the song and dance routine in the toilet to the original tune "Funky Towel." I laughed until I had tears in my eyes.

For people like me who are squeamish about bugs this movie will definitely make you uneasy. But for those of you who "don't give a crap" (Randy's line when he meets Joe for the first time) you'll love it. Family fare, no; older kids and preteens, yes. Adults with a sick sense of humor, absolutely!

I can watch Jerry Lewis films over and over again and still get the full laugh effect. This one finds him as an orderly in a mental hospital (!) where he manages to fumble everything from breakfast to scrubbing the floors. He meets a destitute patient (Susan Oliver) and then the fun begins. These sequences provide a little of the film's serious side but overall the slapstick and Jerry's mugging are hilarious. Even the kids will get a hoot out of this. Highly recommended for family viewing.

This is not even worthy of the few words that I have for this mess. It's about a Barney-like TV character (Edward Norton)who inherits the time slot of an arrogant schmuck (Robin Williams) that has been doing not-so-kiddie-approved things, gets caught and seeks revenge on Smoochy . I'm sorry, folks, but this movie just made no sense to me. What few chuckles I got were from Robin Williams and his profanity-laced one-liners. Rent a Barney video instead.

Why do I waste my time watching these dumb movies? Is it because "Godzilla" 's director hit home with his first mega-hit and I thought that was decent filmmaking, or was I brainwashed to believe that all "man-in-a-rubber-suit" Japanese films were supposed to make sense? Furankens**tain was not a "rubber suit" monster but instead a

half-wit actor with bad B.O., bad personal hygiene, and an equally bad orthodontist who comes to be after he has the Frankenstein monster's heart for lunch. Really. No kidding. Then he sets off to do battle with a real "man-in-a-rubber suit" named Baragon (looks like Rodan's love-child) who bounces off the houses and scenery like a rubber ball. The surgeon in this film could've passed for Charlie Chan with bad dentures - (what was up with the teeth?) - who made J.Carroll Naish's clickety-clacking choppers in "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" look like

top-notch dentistry. Nick Adams must've been promised a lifetime of "The Rebel vs. Anyone Stupid Enough to Star in a Japanese Monster Film" sequels for him to even stoop this low. Jeez. (Do you think Al Adamson could've helped this film at all?) Oh, well, I tried. Pass, folks.

This is a treat for those of us who enjoy side-splitting slapstick without being silly. Bob Hope has been an all-time favorite of mine and in this film he really knows how to get the laughs. He plays an insurance salesman who sells a life insurance policy to Jesse James (played by Wendell Corey) and falls for Jesse's saloon-singer/girlfriend (played by the lovely Rhonda Fleming). It has so many sight gags that it has to be viewed all the way through to really enjoy them. And the cameos by all the western stars during the shootout - what a great idea! Even the kids will get a kick out of this one. My 15-year-old even loved it, considering the junk that's called entertainment today for their age group. Get the family, get some popcorn, gather 'round the set, you baby boomers, and enjoy some great comedy.

What a refreshing treat! I saw this film on AMC and found it fascinating. The story line centers around a typical 50s sci-fi film about aliens invading a small midwestern town. Entomologist Paul LeMat and sleaze tabloid reporter Nancy Allen get themselves into quite a mess when they discover the aliens.

There are a couple of scenes to make you jump but not out-and-out frightening. **spoiler** There is one scene of a child turning into an alien which is kind of disturbing. I wouldn't recommend this film for kids under 10.***end of spoiler*** The aliens are nasty-looking when they peel their human faces off and have what looks like Gatorade for blood shoot out when they're injured. I got a real thrill from seeing veteran actor Charles Lane in a bit of a different role than a grumpy turd but still stern and serious. The musical score also adds to the thrilling chase scenes. This is definitely worth the time. Enjoy.

I remember this serial from the Saturday double features at our neighborhood theatre. This was one of my favorites since it featured a woman (gorgeous Class-A actress Phyllis Coates)who could kick butt pre-Tomb Raider. I don't mean with fancy weapons and stuff - I mean who could handle a high-powered rifle, wrestle and knock out a a man twice her size, and even square-off face-to-face with a lion, armed with only a knife and a lion's headdress.(!) For its time it was pretty good. My kids got a kick out of the storyline - giant crawdads invading Africa! The Panther Girl (who is actually dressed in a leopard suit) must get to the bottom of this and stop it (with the help of Class-Z ham Myron Healey). If you're up for something corny but fun in its own way, then get this serial. Oh, for a laugh or two, check out the scene when the natives are gathered and are about to set safari after seeing the giant crawdads in action and getting the stew scared out of them. One of the actors is off-cue and is staring at someone on the crew and laughing, then gets back into character after the scene has started with everyone else looking scared, but you have to look quickly. It's worth a look - even the kids might get a laugh or two. Nothing offensive whatsoever.

In reviewing "Panther Girl of the Kongo" I confused the costume for this film as being the one that Phyllis Coates wore in "Panther Girl." Sor-ry. This film has the heroine (Linda Stirling) wearing a leopard skin costume and being called "The Tiger Woman." She does not resemble a tiger in any way, shape or form. "Monkey Woman" is more suitable as all she does is swing through trees and get knocked out cold in her many fights with the villains. Allan "Rocky" Lane mugs as the hero (he was better as "Mr. Ed") who is ever-so-hell-bent on building an oilwell but keeps getting foiled by old hand-me-down George J. Lewis who is ever-so-hell-bent on not having it built. The stuntwoman for Linda Stirling has a bit to do here, but doesn't get quite the workout that the one for Kay Aldridge did in "Nyoka and the Tigermen." Duncan Renaldo could not play anyone but "The Cisco Kid." The Cisco Kid never had to play a scene where he looked scared. The scene where the water is rushing into a cave (boy, Republic loved those caves, didn't they?) and traps Stirling and Renaldo equals Will's crocodile tears session on "Big Brother 2." Puh-leeze. Not convincing in the least. Nothing better on TV? Kill time with this one. (if only to see Allan Lane at his conceited worst.)

I miss Clayton Moore. Really. He stars in this Republic serial with Kay Aldridge (another pre-Lara Croft) and does a wonderful job. The plot makes a lot of sense this time. It concerns an American doctor (Moore) who ventures to what looks like a Middle-Eastern country in search of tablets written by Hippocrates that provide a cure for cancer. He meets Nyoka Gordon,(played by Aldridge) who is pitted against Hollywood dust storms, a man in a gorilla suit, funky armpits (when she goes mano-y-mano with the villains in some dirty fighting) and in nasty climactic tussles with Vultura (beautiful Lorna Gray) - and these ain't no hair-pullin' catfights, guys! Republic's stuntwomen were just as tough as the men if not tougher. Vultura and her henchmen do everything in their evil power to stop Nyoka and her handsome hero from getting the tablets, which also lead to a bountiful treasure. During the action Nyoka is even reunited with her long-lost father who is a ruler of some sort. There's even brain surgery going on in one cave while a fight takes place in the next. Hmmm, wonder what would OSHA would've thought of that? Talk about professionalism among the staff! I've heard of office conflicts but this is ridiculous! Seriously, though, this is a good film and well-made. The plot makes sense, the action is good, and it's very easy to follow. It's available as part of Republic's serial collection. Compared to some of the garbage called movie entertainment thrown at us today, I'll take a Republic serial any day.

Why, oh why aren't movies of today as gripping as those of the 1940s and 50s? This film is a classic example of "film noir", nail-biting suspense, and absolute shock at the unbelievable ending. Sterling Hayden gives a brilliant performance as a professional yet sneaky yet very intelligent crook who stages the absolute perfect robbery of a race track. I mean, this guy has it choreographed down to the last tense second. When I first saw this film on TV in the 70s before VCRs and DVDs I waited and waited until it came on again. You can watch this film over and over again and still be fascinated not only with the story but with the top-notch acting talents of Hayden and of "stand by your man" Colleen Gray, sleazy Marie Windsor and oh, so sexy-and-handsome-young-thang-back-then-before-Ben-Casey Vince Edwards in a minor but effective role as a crook, but who isn't working on Sterling Hayden's side. And the good-old whacked-out wimp, Elisha Cook, Jr., puts the icing on the cake. Even the smaller supporting roles give this film it's A+ quality. Oh, Stanley Kubrick, why did you have to leave us with crap like "Eyes Wide Shut" when you had this masterpiece to remember you by? Definitely worth a buy at the video store.

The year was 1948 and by this time Willis O'Brien had already had much success with the prehistoric special effects in "King Kong." Wasn't he around during this filming? The dinosaurs in this film look like mechanical toys with licorice for arms. Actually they were men in rubber suits with licorice for arms. Man, what a waste of time and money! And the "sloth man!"(?) When he appeared for the first time I said, "What the hell...?!"

Was this Richard Denning's encore film or something? He must've been actually drunk to play this part (he plays a drunken, trauma-stricken sailor who is hired by horny drunk Barton MacLane to sail to this Unknown Island with a reject from the Three Stooges shorts, an air-headed photographer and an equally air-headed female accomplice (couldn't they have chosen a cockatoo instead?).The only sensible characters in the film were the "native" crew, and they all sounded like they had Brooklyn accents. They sail to the island, find these brand-X dinosaurs and this excuse of a cross between the abominable snowman and the Cyclops in "Sinbad," called a "sloth-man." Whatever it was supposed to be, the makeup sucked. I wasn't born at the time, but when I was old enough to see monster flicks at the movies, I certainly wouldn't have wasted my time with this junk. I caught it on American Movie Classics (I thought they showed classics, not crap) because I got tired of the early morning news (all bad); when I saw Richard Denning I thought it would be a pretty good horror flick on the lines of "The Creature from the Black Lagoon." It was worth a few giggles, though. I guess all wasn't wasted. But next time I'll opt for Johnny Bravo on the Cartoon Network.

Another entry in the Universal "Frankenstein" genre of the 1940s. This round has regular Lon Chaney,Jr. as the Wolf Man, at his usual best, Glenn Strange (boy, that dude was big) as Frankenstein's Monster, but for a change of heart there's Onslow Stevens as the mad scientist and my all-time favorite John Carradine as Count Dracula. And I don't think he was overacting. Jane Adams gives a convincing performance as a nurse, the token "hunchback," although she is very beautiful and makes her performance out to be that of a very pathetic character whom you feel sorry for. Each time I watch John Carradine in this role it reminds me of when I met him in person when he did "Arsenic and Old Lace" in a live stage production in Philadelphia in the 1960s. I only met him briefly, as he was very old and ill, yet his performance was brilliant. He reprised Raymond Massey's role in the Cary Grant film of the same name. Those famous eyes pierced mine as his gnarled, arthritic hand shook mine, and I told him how much I enjoyed much of his work even though he scared the bejeebes out of me (I was 16 years old at the time). But memorable films and events live on through these old, classic horror (this was real horror, folks, not that garbage you see today)films. This one is definitely worth the time.

Tanya Roberts is wasted here. Yes, she is a very talented actress, but couldn't they have cast a grade Z actress like Linnea Quigley? It's not too much a waste of time because of the beautiful shots of the Kenyan countryside and the animals, but most of the acting really sucks. One exception is Elizabeth of Toro who plays her part as Sheena's guardian with much realism and is quite convincing. There's hardly any graphic violence, except the scene where the white-haired villain gets a spear in his throat point-blank kind of gave me the shivers. Otherwise it's a Saturday-morning action film for kids and guys who like to look at gorgeous women (Tanya Roberts and France Zorda). The nude scenes with Tanya showering were edited for TV (I watched it on AMC) but the scenes of the native and Ted Wass being pulled from the "healing dirt" are there (nothing is shown except shaded buttocks). If there's nothing better on TV, then get a good, healthy snack (you'll be eating more than watching)and enjoy.

Want a good laugh? Then check this one out. This is an Abbott & Costello laugh romp that ranks at the top with their "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein." The choice of supporting comic actors (Mischa Auer, Shemp Howard in a very tiny bit part, and the always hilarious Joan Davis) help to give this film its hilarity. Especially side-splitting is the ballet sequence between Lou Costello and Joan Davis. Every time I looked at Joan Davis I started laughing. She was one true physical comedienne. The plot centers around strange goings-on in a haunted hotel, with everyone playing it for laughs, even Richard Carlson, who was probably just drying off between takes from all-time Universal classic, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon." Some truly fine comedy acting.

This is one of my all-time favorite family films. It doesn't remind me of "Old Yeller" or "Lassie," but something different. It centers around an elderly backwoods hillbilly (Walter Brennan)who is raising his young grand(?)nephew (a very young Brandon DeWilde). The boy finds a strange dog in the woods and, after much reluctance, adopts the dog, only to find that it is one of the strangest breeds (Basenji) in captivity. (Being a Basenji owner, they are indeed very strange but lovable). The film is very moving in parts, especially when you first note the gradual bond between the boy, the dog and the old man and how the little dog seems to bring out a lonely side of the little boy that you don't pick up until that part of the film. Yes, the dog does "sing" ( Basenjis do not bark, they "yodel") and it runs very fast (they are fast runners). The boy's fascination with figuring out just what this dog is all about really manages to capture and hold your attention throughout the entire film. Even you will want to figure out what this dog is all about.

Walter Brennan is hilarious, although it appears as though this role was intended to be on the light side, not hysterically funny side. I found myself laughing so hard in the scenes where he is running to catch up to the dog or running to get the wood chopped when he is suddenly awakened from a long nap. His character is "Grandpa McCoy" from "The Real McCoys" but a little more gritty (at least Grandpa McCoy had dentures). Brandon DeWilde is absolutely marvelous. And "Lady" is both magnificent and fascinating to watch.

Check this one out. It's well worth a family get-together for a few good laughs and for bringing folks together. And if you get the chance to watch a Basenji's antics, even you'll be asking, "Is this really a dog?"