waverboy

Hank Mann plays a voyeuristic house painter spying on an artist who paints and sculpts shapely girls, and when he accidentally crashes through the window the artist gives him his cap and smock and tells him to take over while he takes a break to go photograph inspiring girls on the nearby beach! You know, just like it would happen in real life...

Some great sight gags in this one, especially Hank using James T. Kelley's trademark beard as hair for a female clay sculpture and Hank knocking out the cops via porch swing antics! Unfortunately this film is unavailable on video at the time of writing, but hopefully silent Film accompanist Ben Model (he is the owner of the sole surviving print) will include it in a future volume of his Accidentally Preserved DVD series; he and silent film historian Steve Massa live-streamed it on YouTube with Ben's live piano accompaniment on 3/15/2020, most likely the first time it has been shown to an (virtual) audience since its original theatrical release in 1920.

Hotheaded cynical loner cop Steve Keenan (Robert Knapp) starts getting anonymous threats from someone who's upset with the fact that he killed a gangster kingpin in self-defense. He's casually seeing a beautiful torch singer (of course!) named Gerri (Linda Lawson) who's in love with him and wishes he would commit to her, but nothing doing because he's still feeling burned about his ex Laura (Mary Castle) leaving him and taking up with the now-deceased gangster. His brother (and fellow cop) Harry (James Seay) tries to get him to take the threats seriously, but he just brushes them off until things start taking a deadly turn...

I loved this fast-paced little gem, with sincere performances, lots of snappy dialogue and a jazz bar named Lucky's. Never released on video in any format, but currently streaming on the Warner Archive channel. Watch it while you can!

Fave dialogue exchange:

Lecherous thug to pretty dame: "How 'bout I join ya, doll?" Pretty dame to lecherous thug: "Why, am I comin' apart?"

Made in the low-budget shadow of the great Rin Tin Tin, THE WOLF is a standard two-reel damsel-in-distress silent melodrama that wouldn't be of much interest today if not for the considerable talents of its canine star, Fearless. Old Rinty had stunt doubles, but not the aptly named Fearless; he's the Jackie Chan of animal actors. His incredible leap from the ground through a high window is worth the price of admission alone, but luckily there are even more great moments to be had. Watch in delight as our four-legged hero repeatedly thrashes the villainous cashier who is trying to ruin our heroine's banker father unless she submits to his evil will!

This little gem is found on a compilation DVD-R from the now-defunct Unknown Video titled Whiz Bang Vol. 1, along with three other fun action-oriented silent short subjects. The excellent piano score is by David Drazin. THE WOLF is highly recommended to all silent film buffs with a penchant for talented animal performers; if you love Rinty, you'll love this...if you can find it!

For decades, this film was nigh lost...apparently all that survived was a single extremely tattered/spliced/beat-up 16mm print, under the U.S. retitling of THE MAN WHO LIVED AGAIN, which finally made its way into the hands of the good people at Sinister Cinema, who released it on VHS around 15 years ago. Even in such a compromised state, the film was so good that it almost didn't matter. And then, happily, late last year, it came out of nowhere: an obscure label by the name of Shanachie Video released a DVD mastered from a beautiful, nigh-flawless 35mm print (or it could even be the original negative, not sure) under the original British title. Where this print or negative was found, I don't know, but I do know that I'm ecstatic over it!

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Boris Karloff is EXCELLENT as Dr. Laurience, a scientist trying to get the scientific community to accept his process of transferring "thought content" from one brain to another, ostensibly to preserve the knowledge and personality gained over a lifetime instead of leaving it to rot with the body after life has expired. After his presentation, his peers of course think he's nuts, and his financial backer, newspaper publisher Lord Haslewood, turns on him as well, taking possession of his notes and all the lab equipment. Coupled with the rejection of his romantic advances by his lovely assistant Clare, this, in the time-honored tradition of horror and sci-fi stories, proceeds to send the doctor over the edge...

Boris Karloff manages to make his character by turns likable, detestable, frightening, and sympathetic, according to the demands of the story; at all times he is believable and utterly compelling. Anna Lee, as Dr. Clare Wyatt, the good doctor's assistant, makes for an intelligent, sophisticated, well-dressed, and above all luscious damsel-in-distress. John Loder, as the publisher's son, Dick Haslewood, is his usual lightweight likable leading-man self, and infinitely preferable to David Manners, who often played these types for Universal Studios. If you like John here, you'll also like him in Hitchcock's classic SABOTAGE, also filmed in 1936. Frank Cellier is perfect as Lord Haslewood, Laurience's initial benefactor, later nemesis and eventual victim. He really gets a chance to shine in the clever dialogue exchanges of the boardroom scenes. The direction by Robert Stevenson (who would go on to helm many Disney classics including MARY POPPINS) is right on the money, as is the art direction and set design. Perhaps most importantly, the script is a sophisticated top-notch balance of thrills and light comedy, co-written by John Balderston and Sidney Gilliat. Balderston, scribe of such stage-derived '30s chillers as FRANKENSTEIN, Dracula, and THE MUMMY, provided the serious stuff, and Gilliat, scribe for Hitchcock (THE LADY VANISHES, JAMAICA INN) and Carol Reed (NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH, THE YOUNG MR. PITT), supplied the wit, with excellent results.

The new DVD is a revelation. If all you've seen before is that shredded 16mm print on VHS, and liked it then, prepare yourself to be blown away by this transfer...and if you've never seen it at all, and are a fan of classic horror and sci-fi, you can't go wrong with this undeservedly obscure gem...one of Boris Karloff's finest hours.

One minor caveat: the DVD appears to be either mastered from a PAL source or a bit time-compressed; the voices are at a slightly higher pitch than they should be, but this shouldn't be too noticeable to the majority of viewers. I just tend to be obsessive about this stuff...

SON OF HITLER!!!!!!!!!!!!

(NOTE: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!)

Oh my...where to begin...

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?????????? Did they think this could ever possibly have an audience? And apparently it didn't, because it was never released in any country in any theatrical venue, broadcast medium, or video format whatsoever. Not officially, anyway... :) Luckily for this Cushing collector, I received an excellent film-chained VHS copy of it for my birthday...

Wilhelm Hitler (Bud Cort), Willi for short, son of Adolf, has been sheltered away from civilization on a mountaintop since WWII, courtesy of a reformed former Nazi officer. Peter Cushing is Heinrich Haussner, a senior member of a neo-Nazi-type organization called Never Encourage Intellectual Nonsense (N.E.I.N., yuk yuk), who finds out about Willi's existence, and wants to track him down in order to make him the new Fuehrer. All sorts of silly, tasteless, often boring, and ultimately twisted shenanigans follow.

Peter Cushing is very good indeed; his ripping apart of the storekeeper during his search for Hitler's son is particularly fine, and this is probably the only time you'll see him do pratfalls (although from a distance...whether he did his own stunts in this, I have no idea...I suspect he didn't). Poor Bud Cort gives it an admirable stab, considering the material he has to work with. I must say, with that haircut he does look the part. An easy check for Anton Diffring, who's thrown away in just a few scenes. HOWEVER...the inescapable problem with this film is that real footage of Adolf Hitler simply isn't funny. Not surprisingly. The constant use of real Nazi footage stops whatever feeble comedy there is dead in its tracks whenever it occurs. Perhaps if the writing were of early Mel Brooks-caliber, it would have worked a little better, but...it's not. So, as a comedy, this is a complete and utter disaster. But, as a nutzoid curiosity piece, it's priceless. This film is twisted. Peter's rapid-fire Hitler flashbacks during Bud's final speech are particularly unnerving. The tacking on of "Der Fuehrer's Face" over more real Nazi footage at the end just doesn't work, again not surprisingly, and ends the film on a particularly bizarre, creepy note. I think the only really funny scene in the film is where Bud's wandering around town all decked out in Nazi splendor, blissfully unaware of the negative historical significance of his outfit, causing horrified stares and car crashes. That actually had me laughing pretty hard. I also kind of liked the scene where Bud demonstrates to the girl in the car how Peter's forcing him to be his father by ranting Hitler-style, and Peter notices from afar and starts getting excited...

All in all, definitely a relic worth having, especially for Cushing fans, because it's a rare chance to see him play straight comedy in a major role. But, good luck in tracking it down!