She-Wolf of London (1946)

Grisly murders in a nearby park has a young heiress (June Lockhart) believing she inherited the family curse.

June Lockhart passed away last fall at 100 and TCM ran a few of her films recently. Many might remember her as the mom on Lassie, or perhaps as the mom on Lost in Space, but she has a ton of screen credits to choose from. Her first screen credit was as a Cratchit child in A Christmas Carol (1938).  The Cratchit parents were played by her real life ones.

The murders spark sensationalist stories in the newspapers. Inspector Pierce (Dennis Hoey) investigates. Hoey also played the bumbling Inspector Lestrade in six Sherlock Holmes films. The charming fiancee Barry (Don Porter) doesn’t accept that his lovely Phyllis is responsible, and does his own investigation.

She-Wolf of London is period drama posing as gothic horror. While well made and well acted, it was entirely predictable. If you haven’t figured everything out by the end of the first act, you’re not paying attention. But it isn’t easy to develop a complex story in sixty one minutes, so I feel generous. Pour one out for Ms. June. AMRU 3.

Brief Encounter (1945)

A married woman (Celia Johnson) crosses paths with a married doctor (Trevor Howard) during her visits to the city, and they begin a casual friendship. Slowly they realize that they are in love.

Here is yet another film told almost entirely in flashback. Wife Laura narrates the events inside her head. Her unsuspecting husband is the only person she can trust to tell, but the only person she can never tell.

Looking over a list of recorded films, I selected Brief Encounter on reputation, having been nominated for three Oscars and sporting an 8.0 on IMDb. But when I sat down to watch I discovered that Dr. Cyclops had been recorded. A film about a mad scientist who shrinks people! Sign me up! But I steeled myself, and watched the respectable film.

 Based on a Noel Coward play, it was an early success for directory David Lean. He would go on to direct a desert drama that I will eventually watch. Johnson hadn't done too many films at that point and would eventually star in the dreadful Holly and the Ivy. Howard played Major Calloway in The Third Man.

Brief Encounter is a pretty dull movie. A lot of conversations happen between our mostly chemistry-less leads but also between a rail employee and a cafe worker that doesn’t resolve. But it’s an unusual story and does hold your interest, more or less. But clearly it charmed other viewers much more than it did me. AMRU 3.

Black Friday (1940)

When the kindly professor Kingsley is severely injured, the good doctor Sovac (Boris Karloff) secretly transplants the brain of a gangster to save his life. Also, he wanted to prove he could transplant a human brain. But definitely not because the gangster knew the location of a half million in stolen loot.

More Sci-Fi Noir than horror, it is categorized as such because Karloff and Lugosi appear. Well, Karloff appears quite a bit but Lugosi has a rather small role as a gangster. The real star is Stanley Ridges in the dual roles as Kingsley and the dastardly gangster Red Cannon. Ridges Jekyll and Hydes between the two roles with surprisingly little makeup change. Kingsley has a little gray hair, glasses, and a bit of a milquetoast, while Cannon looks younger and very much a take-charge character. One of the best dual role transformations I've seen.

The story is told in flashback as a reporter reads Doc Sovac’s journal while he walks to the electric chair. The working title of the film was Friday the 13th, because some important thing happens on that day. The accident, the transplant, the execution, I forget what.

Despite some good performances, Black Friday isn’t much of a film. The story is a bit sloppy with the details and is rather forgettable. AMRU 2.5. This is the fourth of eight Karloff/Lugosi collaborations. Have I found another list to complete?

My Little Chickadee (1940)

Flower Belle Lee (Mae West) is kicked out of town because she was seen cavorting with a masked bandit. On a train she pairs up with a con man (W.C. Fields) who scams his way into being named sheriff of the next town over.

West and Fields were huge stars in the 1930’s and this stands as their only collaboration. They did not get along. Credited as co-writers, she wrote her lines, he wrote his, and they didn’t speak when not filming. West, whose particular charms were greatly hampered by the enforcement of the motion picture production code, was on a decline. She would appear in only one more film before a brief revival in the 1970’s. Fields, on the other hand, was at the top of his game. However, drink was catching up with him and starred in only two more pictures before dying of a stomach hemorrhage. He was 66.

B movie veteran Dick Foran plays one of Flower Belle’s many love interests. Seventeen years her junior, he’s the good guy we expect her to land with. Also in the mix is Margaret Hamilton, the wicked witch herself. Here she plays the town busybody. The meek Donald Meek also has a small roll.

While Fields’ humor survives intact, the Hays code simply couldn’t tolerate West’s brand of innuendo. The end result is, pardon the expression, a rather flat performance. My Little Chickadee is interesting because of the leads, and not an unpleasant watch, but lacking in humor and fairly forgettable. AMRU 2.5.

Phantom Lady (1944)

Handsome engineer Scott (Alan Curtis) goes out on the town alone and meets a pretty woman (Fay Helm). She agrees to accompany him to a show but insists they don't exchange names. When he returns home he finds that his wife has been murdered. When nobody seems to remember his unnamed alibi, the cops finger him for the murder.

This is that rare noir whose protagonist is female, the plucky and decidedly non-fatal Carol (Ella Raines). She is sweet on her newly single boss and never questions his innocence. Old Friend Elisha Cook Jr makes an appearance as a cool-daddy-o jazz drummer. His drumming was so good that they would make sounds even when he wasn’t striking them. This makes our eleventh visit.

For about a year prior to starting this blog I watched a large number of old films, this being one of them. I was mostly unimpressed back in aught-8 but always intended on returning to it. Finally I have and I think I regarded it a little better. When Carol gets closer to our mystery lady she is referred to as Miss Terry. That's pretty amusing. 

Phantom Lady is a fairly well-regarded if somewhat forgettable noir. It also has a serious plot flaw that nagged at me for much of the film. I’ll say no more on that, but it’s not mentioned in the IMDb Goofs section. That said, I'm definitely glad I revisited this film. AMRU 3.

The Black Cat (1941)

The matriarch of a vast estate is nearing death and her greedy heirs gather to get their share, and maybe help her along. Into this our hero (Broderick Crawford) arrives with a batty antiques dealer (Hugh Herbert) in hopes of making some scratch himself.

Many of the old dark house tropes are on display, including the mysterious last will and testament, secret passages, a crypt, and creepy staff (Bela Lugosi). Creepy atmosphere, however, is undermined by the comedic tone, specifically from Herbert’s Mr Penny character. He would be the comic relief character had there been any tension to cut.

Herbert was a popular comedian of the 30’s and 40’s, and his likeness and distinct mannerisms were lifted by Warner Brothers cartoons. His distinct “hoo-hoo-hoo” was copied by Daffy Duck and inspired Curly Howard’s signature “woo-woo”. Basil Rathbone appears as one of the unpleasant heirs, as does Alan Ladd, whose career was just taking off. Some may remember today’s hero (Crawford) as the heavy in Born Yesterday.

Our hero enters the story uninvited with money as his motivator (and perhaps a little romance), is repeatedly told to leave, and somehow stays around sleuthing for clues. More than a little strange, it’s an awkward story contrivance that could have been addressed at least in part.

The Black Cat shares a title with the Poe story and little else. It’s only a fair mystery because of the precious few clues leading to the villain. Not much of a mystery, not much of a comedy, not at all horror, but somehow watchable. Consider the vastly superior Cat and the Canary instead. AMRU 3. I feel generous.

“Everything here is for the cats, which is why this place is going to the dogs.”

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Chick and Wilbur (Bud and Lou) operate a shipping company and Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) urges them not to deliver two crates. Why? Because Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster (Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange) are inside them. Spoiler alert. There’s more going on involving an evil scientist and Dracula’s plan with the monster, but really this is an excuse for the boys to clown around and act scared.

I watched and enjoyed The Abbott and Costello Show after school at some point, but if you are unfamiliar, Bud would boss Lou around and Lou would act silly and screw up. Basically a Moe/Curly relationship. I started this film a couple years ago but was put off by the mean-spirited nature of the comedy. I didn’t have that objection this time but never found myself laughing.

I remember hearing that Chaney once said that Bud and Lou made a mockery of the horror genre, but I can’t find a source for that. Times had changed, though. The self serious gothic horror of the depression simply didn't play during post-war optimism. I’m sure Chaney didn’t mind cashing the check.

This was the second and last time Lugosi would play Dracula, although he would occasionally play the character in everything but name. This would also be his last project with Universal. Glenn Strange is sometimes thought of as the Shemp of Frankenstein, having replaced the icon Boris Karloff for House of Frankenstein. At 6’5”, he best fit the physique of an imposing monster. He will forever be identified by his three performances (the NY Times used his picture in monster makeup for Karloff’s obituary) but he appeared in 266 feature films, many of them westerns.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein isn't at all scary, not particularly funny, and they don't meet Frankenstein. It's interesting mostly because of Lugosi’s performance, still at the top of his game. Perhaps I'm a little generous with a score of 3.0.

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

Creepy Dr. Mirakle (Bela Lugosi) has a trained ape and a nefarious plan that involves a young, pretty woman.

Very loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe story, it keeps many of the elements but replaces the narrative. Instead of a detective trying to solve a series of murders, it’s a boyfriend medical student trying to protect his love. And, in retrospect, I don’t think anyone figured out what Dr. Mirakle’s plan actually was, but it appeared to involve ape/lady sexy time.

Communicating who characters are and what their relationship is is a basic task of storytelling. This was not expertly accomplished here, not that it mattered much. The only purpose for any character outside of hero, villain, and damsel in distress is for them to have someone to talk to. A bigger annoyance was the complete lack of a score. Dracula had no score, so why not.

Erik the Ape was a chimp in close-ups and a man in a shabby gorilla suit in longer shots, which wasn't too convincing. I’ve noted before that early horror films were enamored with gorillas. And, like today, many of them were portrayed by old friend Charles Gemora. Also here in a “blink and you’ll miss him” role is our favorite non-Indian Iron Eyes Cody. Us old people remember him best as the Crying Indian.

Murders in the Rue Morgue contains some serious pre-code violence and themes, nineteen minutes of which were cut, which I presume are lost. It's remarkable for that and a classic Lugosi performance, but stretches of it were quite dull. Luckily it was barely an hour long. AMRU 3.

Scarlet Street (1945)

Humdrum bank employee Chris (Edward G. Robinson) comes to the aid of a woman (Joan Bennett), and they strike up a friendship. Under the mistaken belief that he is a famous and fabulously wealthy artist, she and her abusive boyfriend (Dan Duryea) plot to scam him.

On today’s internet this would be called a romance scam, but back then the scammer was required to interact with the victim in real time. Oh, and actually be a pretty woman. Fritz Lang directed the 1944 noir The Woman in the Window also staring Robinson, Bennett, and Duryea, and featured a very similar plot (“A reserved professor meets a model and gets mixed up in murder.”)

I thought I had seen Joan Bennett before (outside of Suspiria, that is) but it was her sister Constance that appeared in What Price Hollywood? and Topper. There was also a sister Barbara who appeared in only five films and lived a troubled life. I shan’t go into detail.

Dan Duryea seems to always play the same character. A joyously hateful scoundrel. Here is no different. Robinson plays the hapless victim to perfection, led down the path like a lamb to the slaughter. But Robinson was capable of adding depth and complexity to the otherwise two-dimensional role. A subtle glance can express wonders.

The Big Heat is the standard bearer of later career Lang but Scarlet Street is a close second. Nothing compares to Lang's early work, but these latter films can be quite surprising. It's a solid story and Robinson's performance is fantastic. AMRU 4.

Abandoned (1949)

Pretty Paula (Gale Storm) travels to LA to look for her missing sister, who had a scandalous baby. A smart alack reporter (Dennis O’Keefe) takes a shine and helps her investigate. Raymond Burr is a shady PI.

The story centers on an illegal adoption racket that would make headlines a year later. Reporter Mark behaves more like a detective, coming and going as he pleases, roughing up suspects, and creeping on the lovely Paula. Old friends may remember Gale from the Christmas film It Happened on Fifth Avenue.

Black market babies is an unusual topic for a traditional noir, and there are aspects of the story forbidden by the censors. Specifically, the identity of the baby’s father. He is not identified, but there are hints.

Abandoned makes for an interesting story with a unique angle on the noir genre, but is otherwise unremarkable. I enjoyed the watch but won’t be revisiting it. AMRU 3.

Secret of the Blue Room (1933)

In a remote country estate three men learn the dark history of the mansion’s guest room, where many years ago three people died under mysterious circumstances. Because all three men have designs on their host’s daughter (Gloria Stuart), they decide to prove their bravery by staying the night in the cursed room. Things don’t go well for them.

This film has it all. A blue room, a secret, what more could you want? A score would be nice. Inspired by the success of The Old Dark House, it was shot on the same set and also featured Stuart in the romantic lead. Some folks will remember her as Old Rose from that sunken boat rom-com. Old friend Lionel Atwilll is her dad.

Secret of the Blue Room was not on my radar. Never even heard of it. Perhaps I read the synopsis and impulse recorded it, then completely forgot. Or maybe I had a DVR glitch. Either way, it was recorded, watched, and I enjoyed it. Well, within reason. Creaky, clumsy, and dated, it lacks a certain internal logic, but that describes most B pictures of the era. I went into it knowing what to expect, it held my interest, and, at 66 minutes, didn't overstay its welcome. AMRU 3.

The Naked City (1948)

A pretty young woman is found drowned in her bathtub, with signs of a struggle. This is a case for the homicide department of New York City’s 10th precinct.

Everyone’s favorite leprechaun Barry Fitzgerald is Lieutenant Muldoon. He, along with Detective Halloran and others, work the case. They follow leads, question suspects, and do research. You know, police work. It’s worth noting that actual police work was quite the novelty in 1940’s Hollywood.

I had turned on TCM half way through an unfamiliar noir. A good noir, I thought, would really scratch the itch, so I hunted through my DVR for a candidate. I found The Naked City. Although labeled film noir by IMDb, it really isn’t. No hard boiled attitude, no expressionistic lighting, no femme fatal. It’s a police procedural, and a pretty good one.

While not what I was looking for, The Naked City is a very interesting watch. We don’t know much more than the detectives, so it serves as a better than fair mystery. And it’s a realistic case. The earth isn’t in the balance, just a murder that needs to be solved. There were likely a few in the city that summer. Some elements are more flick than fact, much of the ending in particular, but it remains a solidly realistic depiction.

The Naked City spawned a TV series of the same name, and inspired many others in the years since. It won't rock your world, but the story is deceptively complex and will definitely hold your interest. AMRU 3.5.

"There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them."

Pursuit to Algiers (1945)

Holmes (Basil Rathbone) is hired to escort a young Algerian monarch back home after his father is assassinated. Set almost entirely on an ocean liner, there are many suspects and more than enough red herrings.

Well, that ends it. Fourteen Sherlock Holmes films up, fourteen down, the first of which I watched five years ago. I’ve marveled how consistent they are in tone and quality, but the earlier ones were a bit more serious. Part of the consistency may be due to the frantic pace they were produced. All in eight years, twelve in five years. This somewhat mirrors Nigel Bruce’s pace of 78 feature films over twenty five years, including seven films released in 1940 alone. Movies are simply not produced at that pace anymore.

Marjorie Riordan was charming as a song and dance ingenue. She would soon get bored with Hollywood and leave for grad school. 6’5” former wrestler Wee Willie Davis had a minor career playing brutes and thugs. Here was no exception.

Pursuit to Algiers proved to be the hardest film for me to find, resorting to YouTube and tolerating the skippable ads every eight minutes. I’m glad I watched the set but I don’t expect to ever revisit them. I wish I could have seen more with mom. AMRU 3.

Torn Curtain (1966)

Professor Armstrong (Paul Newman) is going on a secret mission, but unfortunately his fiancee (Julie Andrews) decides to tag along. He tries to ditch her, but she follows him into East Berlin. Golly, I wonder how this will all play out.

Getting through the rest of Hitchcock’s CV is going to be a slog. This is film 28 out of I believe 53 and one of his least interesting. Think North by Northwest if nothing about the plot was engaging and the stars had no chemistry. Which is very sad because I really like Newman and Andrews. Remember, this is just one year removed from her being irresistibly charming in The Sound of Music. They felt out of place in a Hitchcock film and didn’t have much to do.

Also, some of the techniques accepted in earlier films, like extensive use of rear screen projection, seemed conspicuously dated for 1966. Furthermore, the script is devoid of the humor so common in earlier films. Everything just fell flat.

Torn Curtain is like a well crafted slice of dry toast. No matter how perfectly it is toasted, it’s still toast. AMRU 2.

Dressed to Kill (1946)

Bad guy in prison knows the location of stolen loot and the cops are desperate to find out where. Cohorts on the outside need to buy junky music boxes because reasons. Watson’s buddy runs afoul of the bad guys, and Holmes is on the case.

It was nice to see old friend Ian Wolf again. This is our fifteenth film together and forth in the Holmes series. So, why Dressed to Kill? Maybe because the lady-baddy was a fancy dresser, but I suspect it’s because movies need titles. I understand the story (as is The Pearl of Death) is loosely based on Sir Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” and not the 1980 Angie Dickinson/Michael Caine vehicle. There was also a silent film and a mostly forgotten noir-adjacent film from 1941 by that title.

Not exactly a mystery. We know who the bad guys are and what they are trying to accomplish. It’s just the nature and location of the loot, and what the music boxes have to do with anything, that we are to learn. And that’s just fine. Consistent in tone and complexity, these films are just fun to watch. Were I to complain, though, it would be where our heroes get into trouble by being absurdly dumb. I get it, if Holmes were always two steps ahead, there would be no danger or drama. But they aren’t supposed to be dumb, either. Holmes, anyhow.

This is my penultimate Holmes film and the last chronologically. I don’t know if I will miss them once I’m done and I doubt I will ever revisit them, but for now I am enjoying them. The last one will require a trip to the library. AMRU 3.5.

Lady on a Train (1945)

When travelling to New York, young Nikki (Deanna Durbin) believes she witnesses a murder outside her train window. The police don’t take her seriously so she enlists the help of her favorite mystery writer, as one does.

IMDb classifies this movie as noir, which it is not. But I watched it because it was supposed to be a Christmas movie, which it is not. While set during Christmas time, the season is nothing more than set dressing. Christmas is the theme, not just the decor.

Deanna Durbin came up through the ranks with Judy Garland. She did the same kind of fluff pieces, musical comedies with a tinge of romance. And these light films became very profitable, pulling Universal out of the red. She would eventually eclipse Garland and even Shirley Temple to become the number one box office draw for a few years. But more serious roles were not forthcoming so after twenty one feature films and 28 years of age, she retired. She has since slipped into obscurity, none of her films remembered much today.

Dan Duryea and that Ralph Bellamy fellow are brothers disinherited by their deceased uncle. Duryea played a smarmy and malevolent character similar to his role in Winchester '73. Bellamy took a ten year break from Hollywood after this film then went on to an impressive late career resurgence. Character actor Edward Everett Horton shows up here. Very distinctive in style, he has appeared in a great deal of films.

The “Think they witness/nobody believes” is such a common trope that it could be a genre unto itself. Rear Window comes to mind but if you think of a protagonist exclaiming “Why won’t anyone believe me!”, ask yourself what movie you heard that in. For me, it’s quite a few.

Essentially a crime mystery comedy, Lady on a Train is an entertaining if not thought provoking watch. Because Durbin’s fans came to hear her sing, they inserted three songs that the film would have been better without. Durbin was quite charming and the story holds your interest. Not noir, not really a Christmas movie, but a mystery that allows the observant viewer enough details to figure it out. Glad I watched it. AMRU 3.

Terror by Night (1946)

A young man hires Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) to protect The Star of Rhodesia, a huge and valuable diamond, as his mother travels with it to Scotland. There is a murder, the rock is stolen, and Holmes solves the case.

I Initially watched this on Amazon Prime and found the audio and video quality to be quite poor. Five minutes also appeared to be missing. I rewatched it on Kanopy and there it was complete and the quality was significantly improved. I must remember this going forward.

Just about all of the film is set on a train, from the introduction of the case to the apprehension of the culprit. After the first murder, the action is further contained to a single car. Each compartment contains suspicious characters for our heroes (and inspector Lastrade of Scotland Yard) to question.

It has been two years since my last Sherlock film and it was high time I took steps towards finishing them. A focused setting, short run time, and interesting mystery makes Terror by Night one of the better in the series. Even on second viewing I found it fun to watch. AMRU 4, you know, because I rewatched it. Two more to go.

Marnie (1964)

A troubled woman (Tippi Hedren) robs her company, then jumps to a new job. Also, she is terrified of storms, the color red, and the embrace of a man. At her new job she catches the eye of the company president (Sean Connery). Can his machismo solve all of her problems?

Hey, look! It’s Alan Napier, Batman’s Alfred! He pops up in a number of films. Also here is a very young Mariette Hartley. I was unaware she was an actress. I thought she had a career simply as a guest on other people’s talk shows. She was quite pretty. A young Bruce Dern makes a small appearance.

I considered Marnie as part of Hitchcock’s continued slide after his masterpiece, but TCM introduced it as a film being reevaluated as a masterpiece itself. Maybe I dismissed Tippi’s acting talents too quickly after The Birds. So, clean slate. Is this a gem waiting to be rediscovered?

Nope. Hedren’s acting limitations stand out much more clearly in this very complex role. Especially next to Connery, who seems miscast. Showing all the smug confidence of his more famous role, it is hard to imagine him willing to risk it all for a profoundly damaged person. And, at best, the third most attractive woman in the film.

Hitchcock does well what Hitchcock does well, make no mistake. But at best Marnie is an uneven film with an uninteresting story. Full of pop psychology, poor acting, and a screeching score, it failed to charm me. And Connery’s Rutland “taking what’s his” scene does not age well. AMRU 2.5.

Saboteur (1942)

An airplane factory is set on fire, and Barry’s (Robert Cummings) buddy is killed. When it is discovered that his fire extinguisher was filled with gasoline, Barry is suspected. To clear his name he flees the police to search for the suspicious Frank Fry (Norman Lloyd) who was clearly responsible.

No train here, but man does it hit all the other Hitchcock points. Innocent man on the lam with a hot blond (Priscilla Lane) he can’t trust? Check-a-roo! That’s four in one sentence. Much of the film was reminiscent of The 39 Steps.

Hitch was disappointed with this one mostly because he couldn’t get any of the actors he wanted. Robert Cummings was more of a light comic actor and Hitch felt he didn't bring the sense of danger the role demanded. I thought Priscilla Lane was great but you know how particular Hitch can be with his hot blonds. She played Cary Grant’s fiancee in Arsenic and Old Lace a couple years later then faded from Hollywood.

Hitch was almost impossible to see in his cameo. Apparently his first attempt was cut because of a rude hand gesture. Old friend Ian Wolf appears again, the thirteenth time we’ve crossed paths. Tony Randall has a small speaking part that I had to go back and search for. Another I felt compelled to search for was Will Lee. He was a minor character actor and would rise to fame as the owner of a store on some street. Robert Mitchum is rumored to be in a crowd scene but I never saw him.

Allegedly Barry’s ill-fated buddy was played by an electrical assistant who looked the part. Best I can figure, that would be Jeffrey Sayer, who at 40ish seemed too old to be the boyish character. The woman playing his mom was three years older. That said, Sayer appeared, mostly uncredited, in 516 films! Including TV, he has over six hundred screen credits. I suppose if he is already on set working the gaffers tape, it is easy to pull into a background scene. This is our twenty first film together, which is comically small, considering.

The real saboteur was played by Norman Lloyd in his first feature role. Remembered mostly for St. Elsewhere, he seem to be forgotten when discussing remaining actors from Hollywood’s golden era. Norman turned 106 last month. Give the man a little respect. He was a delightfully slimy villain.

Saboteur is what I would describe as a Worthwhile Lesser Hitchcock. At its heart it is a World War II fifth-column film of which there are a few. Bogart’s All Through the Night is a recent example. But it’s better than most. The plot is a little convoluted, has a few hokey scenes, and drags for a bit, but it is engaging enough and well worth your time. Classic Hitchcock. AMRU 3.5.

Animal House (1978)

We follow the shenanigans of a college fraternity through two freshmen pledges and two older students.

I watched Animal House (introducing it to a son) with no intention of writing it up. Didn’t seem to be in the wheelhouse of the blog. But it was released in 1978, I didn’t see it in theaters, so why the hell not.

The Mayor’s daughter was played by the totally not underage Sarah Holcomb. She also appeared in Caddyshack with a terrible Scottish accent, and two other forgettable films, then disappeared from Hollywood. I think of Amadeus when I see Tom Hulce, but he is arguably better known as Pinto. By the way, look up the IMDb trivia how he got that name.

With each viewing I pick up on small details that I either missed for forgot about. But that’s not the key to Animal House’s endurance. It’s the sheer creativeness and hilarity of the performances. This is John Belushi at his absolute best. This coming from a life-long Blues Brothers fan. His status as a non-principle character allowed him to channel his inner animal. Brilliant.

There are few great jokes in Animal House. It is mostly a series of great scenes stitched together. There is little story or character arc. Just craziness. The end result is a cultural touchstone for a generation. Everyone should watch it. Unless you are a terrible person, then you shouldn’t, and be sad. Karen Allen was hot. AMRU 4.5.

“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”