coppington
Lifetime Total
1+
Lifetime Trivia
1+
IMDb Member
18 years
Reviews
Scared to Death (1946)
Wishing for the End
Scared To Death isn't a campy, fun, bad movie, its just plain bad and painfully boring. I agree with other reviewers this film is an easy one to nod off to at 3am. Wish it were so that Bela had Zucco's role, because about the only interest this film can generate (besides being filmed in color) is when Bela is on the screen. I also enjoyed Bela's reunion with dwarf Angelo (from the Corpse Vanishes)though this pairing was wasted since they had little to do. Zucco, though slightly creepy looking was always somewhat of a bore as a B-horror movie actor. Nat Pendleton gets too much screen time as the annoying "comedic" detective. Characters mostly pace from room to room giving the film a claustrophobic, cheap feel. Mostly for the curious Bela-philes...
Ring of Terror (1961)
Terrorless Ring of Amateurs
Ring of Terror was unintentionally created for DVD. Examine 'Ring' frame by frame for disappearing props, amusing facial expressions by amateur actors, continuity errors, etc.... Special thanks to directors Clark (low paid) Paylow and Harry Slott (Harry Slott?!?).
The film opens with a procession into a graveyard as several grim-looking, (some limping) men hand-carry a casket into a cemetery (to save money on a hearse???). Was this a prophetic view of what would happen to one of the movie's characters? The scene ends cold and is unexplained. Rigor, (get it? Rigor-mortis) the cemetery caretaker is then seen offering Ed Wood-style dialog in his office, then forced laughter over a cardboard headstone with painted letters where his cat Puma stops after a five minute chase through the cemetery. Rigor tells the tale of 42-year old Lewis Moffitt who pals around with guys who resemble Rod Serling, Arthur Godfrey, and Leave It to Beaver casting call rejects going to college. Much tedium and ho-hum follows as middle-aged college students go about their daily routine and prepare for the autopsy that will 'initiate' them as student doctors. Frustrated girlfriends complain about the academic demands placed on their boyfriends...yawn! Well before the two minute climax of the movie, we see a fat couple named Tiny and Ragdoll in a cafeteria eating like freshly slopped pigs, being laughed at while they dance, later eating more than their fair share out of a wheelbarrow/grill, eating one hot dog simultaneously, just eating, eating, eating! The fat girl is in a beauty contest, and only the biased boyfriend (what is he doing at the judge's table?) thinks she's beautiful. Back in the cafeteria, a band plays; a piano, clarinet, and trumpet can be heard but is nowhere to be seen. Even the saxophones that CAN be seen are not necessarily being played even though they are heard on the soundtrack. At the beauty contest the scene's music just stops suddenly in the middle of the melody without any segue.
We finally get to the autopsy scene, and the emphasis is on watching Tiny (the fat guy) pass out and revive multiple times, and which student WON'T run out the door to vomit. The rumor is getting around that Lewis is getting TOO brave; even at autopsies. Lewis is to be initiated into a frat, and now they have the perfect stunt for him to perform. Something related to John Doe the corpse and the 'fearless' Lewis' fear of the dark. Lewis has to go to the cemetery where John Doe is being stored and...
In the end, Rigor reappears (groan)to calm us after such terror. He even has Puma to stroke. There is nothing like a kitty to take the edge off a hard day at the caretakers office.
Some notable scenes: 1. Rigor is running through the cemetery calling for Puma the cat, but his mouth isn't moving. 2. Lewis talks to his girlfriend on the phone, and by the time the scene ends, a light in the chandelier behind him has burned out. 3. Lewis stomps on a rattlesnake that threatens him and his girlfriend while they are parked and necking. The snake is mottled when first seen then turns into a monotone colored rubber snake by the scenes' end. 4. Lewis trips over a headstone that disappears when the camera pans back. 5. Lewis's pajama top opens and closes over and over again in a scene where he is discussing a bad dream with his roommate. In the same scene, Lewis questions his roommate as to why he is looking at him 'like that,' as he lays there with his pajama open. 6. Lewis acts like he is choking in the 'climactic' last scene, but there is nobody squeezing his neck. Also, the corpse's hand changes position as it catches on Lewis' raincoat.
The film opens with a procession into a graveyard as several grim-looking, (some limping) men hand-carry a casket into a cemetery (to save money on a hearse???). Was this a prophetic view of what would happen to one of the movie's characters? The scene ends cold and is unexplained. Rigor, (get it? Rigor-mortis) the cemetery caretaker is then seen offering Ed Wood-style dialog in his office, then forced laughter over a cardboard headstone with painted letters where his cat Puma stops after a five minute chase through the cemetery. Rigor tells the tale of 42-year old Lewis Moffitt who pals around with guys who resemble Rod Serling, Arthur Godfrey, and Leave It to Beaver casting call rejects going to college. Much tedium and ho-hum follows as middle-aged college students go about their daily routine and prepare for the autopsy that will 'initiate' them as student doctors. Frustrated girlfriends complain about the academic demands placed on their boyfriends...yawn! Well before the two minute climax of the movie, we see a fat couple named Tiny and Ragdoll in a cafeteria eating like freshly slopped pigs, being laughed at while they dance, later eating more than their fair share out of a wheelbarrow/grill, eating one hot dog simultaneously, just eating, eating, eating! The fat girl is in a beauty contest, and only the biased boyfriend (what is he doing at the judge's table?) thinks she's beautiful. Back in the cafeteria, a band plays; a piano, clarinet, and trumpet can be heard but is nowhere to be seen. Even the saxophones that CAN be seen are not necessarily being played even though they are heard on the soundtrack. At the beauty contest the scene's music just stops suddenly in the middle of the melody without any segue.
We finally get to the autopsy scene, and the emphasis is on watching Tiny (the fat guy) pass out and revive multiple times, and which student WON'T run out the door to vomit. The rumor is getting around that Lewis is getting TOO brave; even at autopsies. Lewis is to be initiated into a frat, and now they have the perfect stunt for him to perform. Something related to John Doe the corpse and the 'fearless' Lewis' fear of the dark. Lewis has to go to the cemetery where John Doe is being stored and...
In the end, Rigor reappears (groan)to calm us after such terror. He even has Puma to stroke. There is nothing like a kitty to take the edge off a hard day at the caretakers office.
Some notable scenes: 1. Rigor is running through the cemetery calling for Puma the cat, but his mouth isn't moving. 2. Lewis talks to his girlfriend on the phone, and by the time the scene ends, a light in the chandelier behind him has burned out. 3. Lewis stomps on a rattlesnake that threatens him and his girlfriend while they are parked and necking. The snake is mottled when first seen then turns into a monotone colored rubber snake by the scenes' end. 4. Lewis trips over a headstone that disappears when the camera pans back. 5. Lewis's pajama top opens and closes over and over again in a scene where he is discussing a bad dream with his roommate. In the same scene, Lewis questions his roommate as to why he is looking at him 'like that,' as he lays there with his pajama open. 6. Lewis acts like he is choking in the 'climactic' last scene, but there is nobody squeezing his neck. Also, the corpse's hand changes position as it catches on Lewis' raincoat.