Umberto D. (1952)

An old man and his dog struggle in post-war Rome.

Typical of Italian neorealism, many of the actors were complete amateurs. Young Maria (young Maria) went on to appear in a fair number of Italian films, but Carlo Battisti’s only other credit is directing a documentary three years later. Also typical, there isn’t much of a story arc, more of a ‘month in the life of’. There are moments, some of which are amusing and others pretty moving. Umberto’s ultimate fate is left to the viewer to decide.

Young Maria (whose fate is also undetermined) rids ants from the kitchen wall by waiving a burning newspaper at them. It’s a simple but particular moment. In a Hollywood film this would precipitate future events, but here it’s just a moment.

I do enjoy Italian neorealism, but they sometimes don’t connect emotionally with me. Umberto D is an excellent movie and moments certainly resonated with me, but it falls short of great. AMRU 3.5.

Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961)

Antillia, Princess of Atlants (Joyce Taylor, actress of Illinois) is lost at sea and rescued by two Greek fishermen. She is eager to return to her home where the clothes and food do not offend her, and smitten young Demetrios (Sal Ponti) agrees to help. Things don’t go all that well for him.

Some of the secondary characters were dubbed by Paul Frees, making them sound like cartoon characters. If you are unfamiliar with voice over legend Frees, he has almost four hundred credits over his forty year career. He is frequently credited as “Additional Voices” or “Narrator”, as he is here, doing the opening narration in a distinct Orson Welles voice. He was seldom the main cartoon character, but the characters the lead would interact with. He is perhaps best remembered as Boris Badenov, but I’m partial to the Burgermeister Meisterburger.

Azor, High Priest of Atlantis, is played by Edward Platt, who some may know as the Chief from Get Smart. Very different role for him here. John Dall (Rope, Gun Crazy) is principal antagonist Zaren. This would be his last film role, and would be gone within ten years. And so it goes.

With story elements reminiscent of The Island of Doctor Moreau, Atlantis is not without its charm. Unfortunately it is hampered by clumsy acting, a terrible script, and gawd-awful fight sequences. Director/Producer George Pal just came off a big hit with The Time Machine and thus was given a tiny budget to recreate an entire continent. The sets reminded me of ST:TOS. Clips from better movies were added to punch up the drama. AMRU 2.5.

The Wasp Woman (1959)

Frumpy Janice (pretty Susan Cabot), founder of a now floundering cosmetics company, learns that her company’s troubles are caused by the fact she is older now, and thus an uggo. As luck would have it, she is contacted by an eccentric man who claims he can reverse aging using a wasp royal jelly serum. What could possibly go wrong? Consider the film’s title.

Legendary director/producer Roger Corman recently passed and I was never a fan. I've watched ten of the 46 feature films he directed and I rated none particularly high. Over the years I’ve seldom resisted the urge to cast shade his way. While I never cared for his esthetic, I must acknowledge his importance to independent cinema. The Corman Film School trained and mentored an impressive number of people. His legacy includes the names James Cameron, Peter Bogdanovich, Francis Ford Coppola, and Joe Dante along with almost 500 producer credits.

Pretty Susan Cabot had a fair career in B movies, many with Corman. This would be her last. Later she had an affair with King Hussein of Jordan, producing a son who suffered from dwarfism. Hussein would leave her when he learned of her Jewish heritage. She would slowly become mentally unstable, possibly because she was taking her son’s growth hormones. He would bludgeon her to death in her sleep. She was 59. And you thought Susan Peter’s story was grim. 

The Wasp Woman suffers from its budget. Cabot was laughable in her wasp costume, and the action scenes were poorly shot. But there is some amusing dialog and the depiction of the pressure on a woman in charge to keep up appearances might even be a little progressive for the time. At barely an hour long, brevity is its virtue, but it earns another meh 3.0 score.