stephander

Though critically acclaimed, this 1920 film is interesting only from a historical perspective. It was directed notably by the great Swedish director Mauritz Stiller (he was actually a Jew from Finland), who had already directed dozens of films and was a master of his craft. Although he was yet to create his masterpiece The Saga of Gosta Berling, he would only direct a handful of films before his failed residency in Hollywood and premature death in 1928. Also worthy of mention is the film's male lead, a premiere Swedish actor, Lars Hanson, who would famously star several times with Stiller's great discovery Greta Garbo. Erotikon, though, scarcely lives up to its salacious title. It may have been somewhat daring in 1920, but today it is less apt to raise eyebrows than to close eyelids. There must have been a hundred silent features that would deal more compellingly with the theme of the errant wife and the dull husband. While there is no question Stiller has grasped the art of motion picture making -- the acting and camera-work and editing are polished and some of the title cards are witty, artistically the film is a disappointment. Even for one accustomed to the conventions of silent films, it is painfully slow and devoid of arresting incident. Only the unconventional ending (which I won't divulge) somewhat saves it. And the nicely restored Kino version unhappily features a musical score which does little to arise audience interest or connection to the plot. Its atrocious fiddle-scraping may be apt for the contemplation of suicide, but after a half hour or so its annoying discordance becomes unbearable and anyone of auditory sensibilities will soon be reduced to viewing this feature in grateful silence.

Note: this is a review for the full-length UK version of this film entitled NOOSE.

It is always a pleasure to see a film noir that is not only entertaining, artistically satisfying and a little off-beat, but one that is little heard of. NOOSE, a British film from 1948, has many of the visual and plot elements of the American crime dramas made in the forties, and this one even features, unexpectedly, two American stars, Carole Landis and Joseph Calleia. Landis is a fashion reporter who, after getting a story from a girl who is later murdered, wants to get the goods on the man responsible for her death, a notorious and powerful black marketeer, even when she learns that it will entail personal danger to her. She is supported by her newly demobbed fiancé, who enlists a gang of toughs from the local gym to try to bring down the racketeer's empire. Quite a ride from here. --- The story was based on a play by Richard Llewellyn (noted for HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY), but it betrays little of its non-cinematic origins. Director Edmond Greville (a French-English director who began his career working with Abel Gance and ended it with the sleaze classic BEAT GIRL) lends the film considerable artistic flare -- the staging and camera angles will often surprise you; so much so that you sometimes believe you are watching an auteur film. Music is by the great Charles Williams (Dream of Olwen, Theme from the APARTMENT) and adds to the film. The cast is a standout, even though it occasionally seems to work to cross purposes. Carole Landis, who made her last two films in England, was not only an actress, but a singer, USO trouper, and baseball fan (her name came from Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis!). Her career was lamentable spotty and her personal life a disaster, but she was a delight and it is a pity that shortly after this film she supposedly committed suicide (or, as some believe, was done in or something by her married boyfriend Rex Harrison.) Here she is vivacious and gives a performance well beyond that of the usual wise-cracking girl reporter. Derek Farr, always competent, seems bland by comparison and their pairing seems odd -- but the War did produce some odd couples. Joseph Calleia, originally Maltese, was a fixture in Hollywood during the forties and early fifties playing villains in gangster pictures and Westerns. As the kingpin black marketeer of foreign extraction he is simply superb, a performance Edward G. could not have bettered. Rivaling him for film time and stealing all his scenes, though, is Nigel Patrick as the flamboyant Cockney spiv who works for him. Stanley Holloway, known for comedic parts (LAVENDER HILL MOB, MY FAIR LADY) has an unusual dramatic turn as a policeman. --- This film is intriguing and eminently worth seeing, probably more than once, although, on the negative side, it is marred by an unevenness in tone, inconsistent pacing, and editing that disrupts the smooth telling of the story. -- also a few loose ends, such as what was the significance of Carole's character constantly taking her shoes off? Nevertheless, highly recommended for film noir fans!

To describe a film that is different from anything you've seen is difficult. Its style is seriously, consummately neo-noir, the subject matter seems to be that of the hard-boiled detective genre, but as the plot unfolds we realize that we are seeing speculative science fiction. The heroine, Hoyle, seems to be a private detective, a female incarnation of Philip Marlowe perhaps, and she is searching for both a man, who turns out to be her ex-boyfriend, and for a notebook containing metaphysical research by Nazi-era German scientists. Throughout her investigations she repeatedly encounters a haunting, doppelganger-like woman who first appears as a sultry nightclub singer, but turns out to be much more. To add to her confusion, Hoyle seems to be experiencing her life in disjointed pieces that are out of sequence and someone, perhaps herself, is trying to contact her from another time.

Definitely not for the popular audience (if the first ten minutes don't grab you, this one isn't for you), Yesterday Was A Lie will appeal to those who are drawn to the off-beat, experimental auteur film, Gothic science fiction and/or neo-noir film making. The digital black-and-white does not really replicate the lush style of the 1940's, but instead creates it own atmosphere, its own intriguing and stylish world of fog-enshrouded half light. Every segment of the film is crafted with great care and photographed with great artistry; the writer-director James Kerwin has really created something quite wonderful. The stars, Kipleigh Brown as Hoye and Chase Masterson, who produced the film, bring it compellingly to life. (They are also two alluring gals.) Redolent of the original Outer Limits, the darkest of '40's film noirs, Humphrey Bogart, and a bit of Sapphire and Steel, it nevertheless stakes out its own unique territory. If you're not turned off by references to Jungian psychology, Dali surrealism, the poetry of T.S. Eliot, and speculations on alternative realities and the nature of time, let this film lead you into its dream world, but be warned, you will need to, and want to see this film several times.

This film, an unusual and atypical product of independent, low-budget 1970's film-making, will probably appeal more to fans of late '50's sci-fi /horror thrillers than to those of the more lurid features typical of the '70's. The plot concerns a group of tourists who are stranded on a seemingly uninhabited Caribbean isle when their dive boat is disabled after a collision with a ghostly wreck. The island, though, is the home of a former SS officer and worse, his unit of semi-aquatic zombies that have just become resuscitated and are on the prowl for victims. Ensuing is a suspenseful struggle for survival. On the down side, although the film is superbly edited, there seem to be missing some early explanatory sequences whose absence may leave the viewer somewhat confused. But there is little else to find fault with. The dialog is excellent and the story, well-paced, does not become sidetracked by superfluous plot elements. Noteworthy are the intriguing location settings that include an abandoned luxury hotel. The eerie and effective musical score is by Richard Einhorn who memorably composed music to accompany Dreyer's Passion of Joan of Arc. The be goggled, convincingly kraut-looking SS zombies are in excellent make-up, and scenes of them rising menacingly out of the water are disturbingly scary and unforgettable. The casting is perfect. The male lead is believably played by Luke Halpin of Flipper fame, who is much at home on a boat. The female lead is handled by the wonderful Brooke Adams in her first starring role. Ideal as the stalked, but feisty heroine, she evinces the grit of her Presidential forbears and looks fetchingly fit in a yellow bikini. John Carradine and Peter Cushing, ultimate professionals and always at home in this kind of film, both give effortless, sterling performances, Carradine as the crusty boat captain and Cushing as the SS officer. (I've never like Carradine more than in this role.) The rest of the cast is also excellent, the characterizations right on -- you know these people. Although there are plenty of drownings and stranglings, the film is only minimally violent. It's an easy-to-look-at and satisfying film; I've seen it 27 times so far. Give it a try! --- The DVD of this film unfortunately presents a rather sub-standard print of the film, the only one available apparently, but includes entertaining commentary and interviews that provide intriguing insight on the making of the film.

A man lies dying in a cheap boarding house. His strange life story takes the viewer back several decades to a small town in Hungary. There, a ruthless baron, anxious to purchase land on which there are oil deposits, frames a group of unruly tenants for the murder of a missing teenage girl so that he may acquire their land. The authorities are under his thumb and only an idealistic attorney from Budapest can give the accused men a chance at a fair trial. --- The defense lawyer is superbly played by Conrad Nagel, a polished and much admired actor of films, radio, and television. Though not particularly remembered today, he was one the most popular movie stars of the silent and early talkie era. By the late '40's he was finding few film roles, but his decision to appear in this noirish courtroom drama was no mistake. His strong presence and melodious voice gave the part considerable impact, and his performance helps to make this minor film a memorable sleeper. Of course this is a low-budget affair -- short running time and sparse production values with most of the action taking place in the courtroom. But it does sport a fine cast of familiar character actors including the ubiquitous Lyle Talbot and good old Phil van Zandt. The action, though claustrophobic, is well staged and the dark lighting lends the film an eerie, Kafkaesque mood. The director, W. Lee Wilder, older brother of Billy Wilder and somewhat notorious for cheaply done sci-fi films, taps his Middle European background to give authenticity to this, his finest early effort. --- This should be a must-see for any fan of '40's "B" pictures. (At the time of this writing, a pretty decent-looking 61-minute version of this film, entitled Woman in Brown, is available for viewing at archive.org.)

Produced by Peter Rogers and directed by Gerald Thomas, the legendary duo responsible for the Carry On series, this comedy is as mildly racy and as funny, but of greater subtlety. It concerns Jo Halliday, a seventeen year-old girl from a commonplace English suburban background who writes a scandalous novel that seems to depict the Halliday family -- and not in a favorable light. In it her accountant father becomes an embezzler and a sugar daddy to his secretary, her mother is having an affair with a retired military officer who is a family friend, and her lovelorn aunt is pining for her employer, a doctor who carries on with all his women patients. The book, of course, is a best seller and the whole town is gossiping about the girl's poor family and creating considerable problems for each member. The comedic complications unwind deftly, with an hilarious sequence depicting the characters as they appear in the way over-the-top book. The acting is superb, but we expect that with British films from the '50's. Ted Ray anchors the family and the film as the father. Jean Kent, an outstanding dramatic actress who had starred in such films as The Browning Version and The Woman in Question, shines as well in comedy and is wonderful as the slightly daffy mother. Joan Sims, of Carry On fame, is a riot as the maid. Also featured are familiar comedic actors Leslie Phillips as the doctor, Dilys Laye as the secretary, June Jago as the aunt. Lionel Jeffries as the family friend (whose efforts to teach the Jean Kent character to drive a car are simply hilarious), and Colin Gordon, Charles Hawtrey, Ronald Adam, and Joan Hickson. Best of all, though, is the leading actress who plays Jo, Julia "Toots" Lockwood, the young daughter of film great Margaret Lockwood. She is thoroughly charming and immensely appealing and at the same time plays her part with great sensitivity and conviction. Unfortunately, Toots didn't have a big film career, although she worked on the stage and on TV until she retired in the mid '70s. But she's a standout in this film, which is a must see for those who like British comedy of the period.

Robert Dantes, the rakish son and heir of the Count of Monte Cristo, is framed for murder by enemies of his father who lust after his legacy. Will he, like the original Dantes, escape from prison and take vengeance upon his persecutors? --- This is, admittedly, a somewhat obscure and cheaply made black-and-white swashbuckler, but is reasonably entertaining, if one doesn't expect too much of it. Robert Clarke, who would appear in many low-budget sci-fi films, is a likable hero, and Catherine McLeod does her best to lend some interest to the part of the lady who conspires against Dantes and then falls in love with him. Daniel O'Herlihy, a very fine and perhaps under-appreciated actor, is a first-rate villain, and the rest of the cast is solid. The action scenes and sword fights are amateurishly handled, however, and the settings are scarcely an asset. On the plus side, some interest is afforded by the ladies' gowns, which are more décolleté than one might expect. --- Recommended only for fans of the genre or as a pleasant time killer.

This film deserves to be regarded as one of the gems of British comedy of the '50's and '60's and stars three of its most superb and inimitable performers, Alistair Sim, Terr-Thomas, and George Cole. The plot is generally this: Sim is an antique clock repairer who is induced to resume his erstwhile profession, that of assassin, and to do in a British diplomat headed for the Middle East. His plans, of course, go awry when he must silence the diplomat's secretary whom he has been pumping for information, but has now found him out. The woman is lured to the adjacent, unoccupied house, but Sims' assistant batches the job. The fiancée of a BBC broadcaster who owns the house and a vacuum cleaner salesman who happens to be there, catch on and are determined to thwart the assassination, which is to take place at a seaside inn called The Green Man.

The comedy, literate, sophisticated, and droll, is effortless and uncontrived, with a bit of social comment subtly thrown in. The film is briskly paced and a delight from beginning to end. Alistair Sim, an eccentric Scot who turned down a knighthood, was a master of drama (his Scrooge is impeccable), but it was at comedy that he most often worked, and with his expressive voice and face, his performances were sublime. George Cole, who plays the vacuum cleaner salesman, was adept at playing befuddled innocents and is perfect. (He was often teamed with Sim and was in fact his adopted son. Cole's wife, Eileen Moore, is also in the cast.) Many other Brit film faves such as Raymond Huntley, Dora Bryan, and Colin Gordon are featured as well, and of course there is the irrepressible Terry-Thomas, who is always a kick. Jill Adams, as the girl, should also be mentioned; she was very engaging and deserved more parts.

The film leaves the viewer wanting for nothing and is a masterpiece of incidental comedy. Anyone enjoying films such as The Naked Truth, Laughter in Paradise, or The Lavendar Hill Mob will love The Green Man.

This action film, made in 1946, or was it 1936?, is a horrible and inept mishmash about tuna fishermen hunting the South Seas for a lost seaman at the behest of his mother and fiancée. They eventually find him on a Polynesian paradise which he is reluctant to leave. They resort to shanghaiing him, not to take him back apparently, but to make him tell them where the good tuna are to be had. But in addition to the tuna they meet up with the Devil Monster, which turns out to be nothing more than a large manta. The story makes no sense and the direction has no continuity. Many of the effects, such as the fight with the manta, are laughably bad. Its only virtue is that the badness of it is unpredictable and that unpredictability is what may or may not hold your interest for a plodding hour. The highlights of the film are the brief shots of bare-breasted native women and a nifty fight between an octopus and an eel shot in an aquarium.

The Limping Man is one of a large number of competent British mysteries made in the '50's and featuring American actors in leading roles. In this one, it's Lloyd Bridges who stars. He is always credible and enjoyable to watch, but, in this feature, has too little to do. He is cast as an American who returns to London many years after the war to see his old girlfriend. Once there, a man standing next to him on the tarmac is gunned down by a sniper. He soon learns that there is a connection between the victim and his girlfriend. A web of intrigue unevenly unfolds. While the film does not fall into any predictable pattern of clichés, neither does it fit neatly together into the satisfying structure one expects of a good taut British mystery. Moira Lister lacks the appeal necessary to make the part of the girlfriend interesting, and she just doesn't click with Bridges. Helene Cordet as a decorative French entertainer also leaves one cold. (More interesting, though, in a bit part, is a young Jean Marsh.) All in all, it's middling double-feature fare, but well worth seeing if you like the genre.

The name Jessie Matthews may not meant a great deal to current film goers, even to those who like old movies, but she was England's biggest musical star of the 1930's. She was a great dancer, a fine singer, a wonderful actress and scintillating personality. (Only personal troubles and changing tastes ushered in by the war prevented her from having a longer career.) It's Love Again, at a mid-point in her film career, provided her most memorable vehicle, except perhaps for the earlier film Evergreen, in which she established her screen persona as an aspiring musical star who resorts to some sort of trickery to achieve stardom. In this film she tries to get publicity for herself by impersonating a mysterious Indian woman who is actually a concoction of her society columnist boy-friend, played, surprisingly, by an engaging Robert Young. Also in the cast is her then-husband comedian Sonny Hale as well as his father Robert, and well-known character actress Athene Seyler. It's a peppy and thoroughly entertaining film. There is comedy, romance, good songs and musical numbers --- and Jessie wears some exotic and quite sexy costumes. All in all, though not for everyone's taste, it is a delight and quite different from --- and in many ways better than --- the musical films Hollywood had to offer at the time. And the talented Miss Matthews, with her bright eyes, toothy smile, enthusiasm, eccentricity, and Mayfair accent, is worth a look for those not familiar with her.

This is a quite short and minor film for movie great John Barrymore, but one of his most engaging. He plays a ne'er-do-well man about town who is currently managing a London nightclub. At a will reading he comes to meet the daughter he has not seen in twenty years. She is now an entertainer and at the behest of the nightclub owner, is induced, against the father's wishes, to perform there. The father-daughter relationship, at first very frosty, develops amusingly and charmingly.

Barrymore, capable, of course, of the great dramatic or romantic performance, is here wonderfully delightful, at times touchingly paternal, but never overly sentimental. As always, it is pure pleasure to hear his every line of dialog and to see the thoughts and emotions play upon his face. This is Barrymore lite, but a performance one can easily see again and again with enjoyment. His daughter, not expectedly a bit wild and eccentric, is perfectly played by Helen Chandler. She is best known for being in Dracula with Lugosi and Christopher Strong with Hepburn, but this is probably her best role. (Actually this is a part one can imagine John's grand-daughter Drew playing!) Miss Chandler, so believable as John Barrymore's daughter was, ironically, married to Bramwell Fletcher, who would later marry Barrymore's daughter.

The supporting cast, particularly Donald Cook as the boyfriend and Alan Mowbray as the nightclub owner, is very good. The direction (by King Kong veteran Ernest Schoedsack) is brisk and well-paced, even if the story meanders a bit. --- The major fault of the film is that there perhaps could be a bit more of it.

In late 19th Century a writer returns to Paris to learn that his acclaimed novel may be censored by the government since it seems to contain proceeds from a secret trial. At this time someone connected with that trial is killed by what seems to be a catman. The writer, who has memory lapses, is suspected, especially when his fiancée is also a victim, but his mentor and the daughter of his publisher with whom he is falling in love strive to protect him.

Although not a classic like Cat People, it is of the 1940's genre of horror films involving supernatural transformations, films that aspired to be atmospheric and subtle, avoiding the use of already worn-out clichés of the '30's horror films and generally not employing established horror-picture stars. Catman was slickly produced (for a B-minus film), but being done by Republic Studios it not surprisingly featured many elements of Western films (can-can girls, a saloon brawl, a carriage chase). --- The cast is excellent. It's a treat to see suave Austrian Carl Esmond in a leading role, while Slovenian actress Lenore Aubert, in perhaps her most engaging role, is well showcased here. Also, Adele Mara is a knockout, and always reliable Douglas Dumbrille is particularly good.

It is, of course, a minor film and will not please those, easily bored, who prefer their horror blood drenched with a thrill a second, or those who prefer only vintage films with major stars. But it a somewhat novel twist on the classic horror film and this reviewer has enjoyably viewed it several times.

Canadian John Walker has put together a truly wonderful, informative, and entertaining documentary on the seldom seriously considered subject of fairies. While touching upon historical background and context, he emphasizes modern aspects of belief in and experience of fairies. The interviews with witnesses who have actually encountered and physically seen fairies are impressive and convincing; the body of evidence for the existence of fairies presented here must challenge our smugly material view of the world.

I have seen this film several times and enjoy it more with each viewing --- granted enjoyment of it might be conditional upon one's open-mindedness to the idea of fairies. But there is some fine scenery to be enjoyed as the film will takes the viewer to Ireland, Scotland, and parts of England and Canada, and the interviewees are almost all charming people whom it is a pleasure to be acquainted with. If you believe that fairyland is a total crock, you might want to pass this film by, but if not, you will probably like it and perhaps love it as I do.

During the excavation of a London underground extension fossils of five-million year old apemen are unearthed. Also, what appears to be an unusual WWII vintage rocket is discovered and a military expert, Colonel Breen, is called in. Breen has just joined the British Rocket Group over the protests of its leader Professor Bernard Quatermass, who joins him in at the subway excavations. When fossils are discovered inside the rocket as well, Breen is dismissive, but Quatermass suspects that the rocket may be extraterrestrial. He and palaeontolists Dr. Roney and Barbara Judd try to solve the riddle of the bizarre craft and why the area, known as Hobb's End, is notorious for demonic apparitions. Several notches above what usually passes for cinema science fiction, this film is superb in every respect. Compelling and suspenseful, it offers not only action, mystery, and a magical sense of wonder, but intriguing ideas as well. It was written by the brilliantly creative Manx writer Nigel Kneale and the film was based on the third and last of his Quatermass TV serials, which were hugely popular in Britain in the late fifties. It is expertly directed by the much underrated Roy Ward Baker, (who really knows the value of the reaction shot) --- he did not only horror films and British TV shows but films such as A Night to Remember. Scottish actor Andrew Keir is outstanding as the irascible Quatermass (succeeding Brian Donlevy who appeared in the previous two Quatermass films made a decade earlier), and fellow Scot James Donald is excellent as Dr. Roney. Stand out, though, is the soft-voiced, sensitive, and genteel Barbara Shelley, beloved of all British horror fans, who is nicely showcased in perhaps her last important film role in the genre. (And memorable, too is Julian Glover as the arrogant Col. Breen.) --- It's a superbly done package whose quality holds up well today.

If you think this will be just a clichéd soap opera (a la Francais) about an art student having an affair with a married doctor, you will be very much surprised. Aside from the jaw-dropping plot developments, this is a profound and moving study of romantic fixation, brilliantly, tastefully, and imaginatively conceived and executed. Audrey Tautou is enchanting as expected, but in this film she reveals as well a depth and a power that belong to a truly great actress. Mlle. Tautou, already eternally beloved for "Amelie," is becoming that by creating vivid depictions of post- modern women, introverted, individual, even mildly eccentric, socially alienated and searching for identity, alternating between being emotionally adrift and obsessed, and torn between idealism and disillusionment. Here, she creates with astonishing sympathy the disturbed, romantic Angelique --- arguably the flip side of "Amelie."

The rest of the cast, probably not known to Americans, is also superb. The Bordeaux settings are wonderful and create a timeless ambiance for the story. And many will love the use of Nat King Cole's recording of L-O-V-E. The film is uniformly and endlessly fascinating and will command many viewings (I have seen it 56 times so far!).